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LECTURES 


ON   THE 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 


NEW  YORK  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION, 


BY 

REV.DRS.  WESTON,  BEVAN,  LLOYD,  STORES,  HALL, 

TAYLOR,   VINCENT,  ELDER,  FOWLER, 

TIFFANY,  AND  JOHNSON, 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


COPYRIGHT,  1881, 
BY  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


THE  GOSPEL 


ACCORDING   TO   MATTHEW, 


BY  REV.  HENRY  G.   WESTON,  D.  D., 

CHESTER,    PA. 


THE 


QOSPEL  ACCORDINQTO  [VIATTHEW. 


Preliminary  to  the  examination  of  any  one  of  the 
Gospels,  two  questions  present  themselves :  What  is  the 
purpose  of  the  Gospel  history  ?  and  What  relation  do 
the  narratives  of  the  Evangelists  sustain  to  one  another  ? 
These  four  histories,  with  marked  agreements  and  diver- 
sities, cover  substantially  one  interval  of  time.  Is  there 
anything  in  their  nature  or  design  which  requires  that 
there  should  be  more  than  one  Gospel  ?  Are  their  like- 
nesses and  divergencies,  their  insertions  and  omissions, 
their  differences  of  arrangement  and  apparent  discrepan- 
cies, accidental,  or  are  they  determined  by  a  plastic  and 
fundamental  purpose  ?  Is  there  "  an  ever-active  law  of 
exclusion  and  inclusion,"  and  can  that  law  be  ascertained 
and  formulated  ? 

Various  theories  have  been  adopted  to  account  for  the 
number  and  character  of  the  Gospels.  One  is,  that  they 
are  memoirs  of  Jesus  Christ  intended  as  a  model  human 
life,  and  that  their  variations  arise  from  the  idiosyncrasies 
of  the  writers  ;  another,  that  the  Evangelists  were  but 
partially  acquainted  with  the  facts  of  our  Lord's  life,  the 

1* 


4  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

materials  out  of  which  they  built  their  narratives  being 
fragmentary  and  imperfect ;  a  third,  that  Matthew  ad- 
dressed the  Jew,  Mark  the  Roman,  Luke  the  Greek,  John 
the  church ;  that  the  three  nations  represent  the  three 
great,  permanent  classes  of  unspiritual  men,  and  that  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  wer*^  so  shaped  in  order  to  convince 
these  classes  respectively  of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

If  the  Gospels  are  memoirs  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  are 
designed  to  present  a  model  human  life,  why  do  they 
pass  over  in  silence  the  thirty  years  in  which  our  Lord 
most  nearly  touched  the  ordinary  duties  and  positions  of 
men,  and  record  only  his  Messianic,  official,  miraculous 
deeds  and  words  ?  Why  do  the  Epistles  know  no  "  Christ 
after  the  flesh"  (2  Cor.  5:16),  never  drawing  motive,  ex- 
ample, or  sanction,  from  Christ's  precruciiixion  life,  but 
always  appealing  to  his  resurrection  as  the  grand  source, 
and  to  his  death  as  the  grand  model,  of  Christian  action 
(Phil.  3:10;  I  Pet.  2:21-24).!*  Is  it  credible  that  the 
omissions  of  the  Gospels  arose  from  a  lack  of  informa- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  writers }  Could  Matthew  by  any 
possibility  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  resurrection 
of  Lazarus  }  Was  John  ignorant  of  the  transfiguration  } 
Did  Matthew  know  nothing  of  those  events  which  con- 
stitute one-half  of  Luke's  Gospel }  Were  Matthew  and 
John,  apostles  both,  unaware  of  Christ's  ascension  .?  The 
third  hypothesis,  that  the  Gospels  were  designed  for 
different  types  of  character,  is  inadequate  to  meet  the 
facts  of  the  case,  leaves  a  large  part  of  their  phenomena 
unexplained,  and  is  especially  inadmissible  when  it  claims 
that  the  first  three  Gospels  were  addressed  to  unbeliev- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.  5 

ers.  The  New  Testament  is  the  Christian's  book.  It 
was  written  for  those  instructed  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 
It  everywhere  addresses  persons  who  have  received  the 
truth.  It  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  the  essential  inci- 
dents in  the  Gospel  history.  The  orderly  arrangement 
of  the  primary  facts  of  Christianity  is  for  those  who  be- 
lieve those  facts,  just  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the 
systematic  discussion  of  justification,  is  not  for  the  un- 
justified, but  for  the  justified.  You  answer  the  question 
of  the  sinner,  "  How  shall  I  be  just  with  God  T  not  by 
giving  him  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  but  by  bidding 
him  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  needs  to 
know,  not  the  processes  of  salvation,  but  Christ  the  Sa- 
viour. Paul's  exposition  of  the  method  of  justification 
was  written  for  those  who  had  experienced  the  doctrine 
and  were  prepared  to  retrace  the  ground  and  study  the 
provisions  and  methods  of  salvation. 

What,  then,  are  the  Gospels }  They  are  histories  of 
redemption  as  accomplished  in  the  incarnation,  life,  death, 
burial,  and  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They 
are  in  part  what  the  Bible  is  in  full ;  the  Scripture  does 
not  give  all  of  God's  deeds  on  the  one  side,  nor  all  the 
world's  deeds  on  the  other,  but  only  those  which  pertain 
to  the  history  of  salvation ;  and  the  Gospels  are  neither 
memoirs  nor  chronicles,  but  histories  :  they  record  no 
facts  except  those  which  are  em.braced  in  their  design 
and  purpose.  Each  Gospel  presents  its  own  phase  of 
the  history  of  redemption — Christ's  work  in  a  special 
aspect. 

Matthew  is  the  opening  book — the  Genesis — of  the 


6  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

new  covenant.  The  Old  Testament  closes  with  the 
Jewish  nation  looking  for  their  promised  King  and  Mes- 
siah. The  Jews  are  the  favored  people  of  God.  To 
them  belong  peculiar  privileges,  an  economy  established 
by  Heaven,  and  a  future  prosperity  sung  by  every  prophet 
and  longed  for  by  every  generation.  In  the  Gospel  age 
the  Jewish  nation  is  deserted  by  God.  A  church  exists 
in  which  the  dominant  portion  are  Gentiles,  to  whom  the 
practice  of  the  Mosaic  rites  is  forbidden.  These  astound- 
ing facts  "  required  to  be  not  demonstrated,  but  explained, 
and  in  some  respects  justified.  How  had  the  Church 
been  founded  }  How  had  it  become  open  to  the  Gen- 
tiles }  How  were  the  people  of  Israel,  from  the  midst  of 
whom  it  had  gone  forth,  themselves  excluded  from  W. 
How  reconcile  with  these  unexpected  events  God's  faith- 
fulness to  his  promises  ?"  The  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew  answers  these  questions.  It  gives  the  causes 
and  methods  of  this  wonderful  change.  It  relates  the 
coming  of  Jesus  to  the  Jews  as  their  king,  his  rejection 
by  them,  the  abrogation  of  the  old  covenant,  and  the 
prospective  establishment  of  the  church  with  its  consti- 
tution and  ordinances.  It  shows  us  that  this  was  no 
afterthought  or  expedient,  but  had  been  foretold  by  the 
prophets,  and  that  in  the  earliest  dealings  of  God  with 
the  Abrahamic  people,  its  basal  principles  are  seen.  The 
Gospel  according  to  Matthew  conducts  us  from  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  to  that  of  the  New.  If  we 
have  rightly  represented  its  design,  it  will  be  systematic, 
fundamental,  official,  and  will  embrace  in  its  view  the 
time  from  the  calling  of  Abraham  to  the  end  of  the  age. 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.  7 

I.  The  systematic  character  of  the  Gospel  governs  its 
general  structure  and  its  details.  Chronological  sequence, 
the  order  of  occurrence,  is  disregarded  for  the  sake  of 
the  logical  arrangement  and  regular  development  of 
ideas.  Homogeneous  events  are  grouped  together,  some- 
times in  succinct  statements  (4:23-25),  sometimes  more 
in  detail  (chaps.  8,  9).  The  indefinite  tote,  used  nearly 
one  hundred  times,  marks  the  transitions  in  the  narra- 
tive. Our  Lord's  instructions  in  Luke  are  in  conversa- 
tions, and  in  John  what  may  be  called  conversational 
discourses ;  in  Matthew  they  are  discourses  in  the 
strictest  sense — compact,  elaborate,  symmetrica] — all 
marked  with  an  organic  and  vital  unity.  The  teleologi- 
cal  consecutiveness  of  the  Gospel  is  perfect;  there  is 
not  a  sentence  but  is  in  its  logical  place,  not  one  that  is 
not  a  link  in  the  chain.  The  completeness  of  the  great 
discourses  of  our  Lord  and  the  topical  arrangement  of  the 
Gospel  are  shown  by  the  phrase — peculiar  to  Matthew — 
"when  Jesus  had  ended  these  sayings"  (7:28;  11  :i* 
13*53;  19*1;  26:1).  These  discourses — of  the  kingdom 
in  its  nature  and  characteristics  (chaps.  5-7),  in  its  pre- 
sentation (chap.  10),  in  its  organic  manifestation  and 
development  (chap.  13),  in  its  internal  spirit  and  relations 
(chap.  18),  and  in  its  consummation  chaps.  24,  25) — • 
follow  one  another  in  regular  progression,  connected 
closely  by  the  intervening  narrative.  The  first  words  of 
Christ  declare  the  object  of  his  Messianic  work,  "  to  fulfil 
all  righteousness  " — to  bring  in  and  make  actual  perfect 
righteousness.  The  last  words  of  Christ's  instructions 
are,  ''  the  righteous  into  life  eternal,"  and  between  there 


8  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

two — the  announcement  of  his  purposes  and  its  accom- 
plishment in  the  entrance  of  the  righteous  into  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  them  from  the  foundation  of  the  world — 
one  theme  is  kept  in  view.  The  portrait  in  the  sermon 
on  the  Mount  of  the  perfectly  righteous  man — the  ideal 
character  to  be  produced — is  followed  by  the  details  of 
Christ's  work,  through  which  the  glorious  result  is 
attained.  Into  these  we  cannot  now  enter ;  all  that  is 
possible  for  us  at  this  time,  is  to  point  out  some  of  the 
more  general  and  obvious  divisions  of  the  Gospel. 

In  the  method  of  Christ's  teaching,  two  stages  are 
distinctly  marked.  In  the  first  twelve  chapters  his 
statements  are  direct  and  explicit.  In  the  thirteenth 
chapter,  with  the  recognition  of  the  judicial  blindness  of 
the  Jews,  our  Lord  introduces  a  new  mode  of  teaching — 
by  parables. 

A  like  order  and  distinction  are  observed  in  the  mira- 
cles. Before  this  important  epoch,  they  are  all  exhibi- 
tions of  authority — external  miracles.  Now  begins  a  new 
class  of  miracles — revelations  of  Christ  in  his  essential 
nature  and  relations. 

The  topics  of  Christ's  teaching  are  equally  distinct, 
divided  by  the  sixteenth  chapter.  Previously  to  the 
recognition  of  his  true  character  by  his  disciples  in  that 
chapter,  his  instruction  has  reference  to  his  nature  and 
person.  "  Who  is  Christ .?"  is  the  question  in  every 
miracle  and  controversy.  When  this  is  rightly  answered, 
the  manner  of  redemption,  by  death  and  resurrection, 
occupies  the  attention.  In  other  words,  the  person  and 
the  work  of  Christ  are  taught  in  their  order. 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.  9 

The  twenty  miracles  recorded  by  Matthew  follow  a 
regular  sequence,  beginning  with  the  cure  of  leprosy,  the 
symbol  of  sin,  and  ending  with  the  withering  of  the  fig- 
tree,  the  type  of  judgment. 

The  arrangement  of  the  fourteen  parables  is  equally 
systematic,  commencing  with  that  of  the  sower  scattering 
the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  closing  with  that  of  the 
talents,  the  adjudication  of  the  last  day. 

As  a  history  of  Christ's  presentation  to  the  Jewish 
nation,  the  plan  of  the  Gospel  is  readily  seen. 

1.  His  presentation  as  the  royal  heir,  ending  with  his 
flight  into  Egypt  and  his  secluded  residence  in  Nazar- 
eth— chapters  i  and  2. 

2.  His  presentation  as  the  Son  of  God,  resulting  in 
his  rejection  by  the  nation,  and  in  his  recognition  by  the 
twelve  disciples — chapters  3  to  20. 

3.  His  formal  and  avowed  presentation  to  the  nation 
as  their  king,  resulting  in  a  like  formal  and  avowed  rejec- 
tion, in  his  death,  burial  and  resurrection,  in  a  commission 
to  his  apostles  to  disciple  all  nations,  and  in  the  assu- 
rance of  his  continual  presence  with  them  until  the  end 
of  the  age — chapters  21  to  28. 

n.  It  is  the  Fundamental  Gospel — it  narrates  the 
rejection  of  the  Jewish  King  and  the  foundation  of  the 
Christian  church. 

I.  It  is  the  Jewish  Gospel.  By  this  is  not  meant  that 
it  was  written  for  the  Jews,  either  Christian  or  unbe- 
lieving, any  more  than  when  we  say  it  is  the  kingly 
Gospel,  we  mean  that  it  was  addressed  to  kings.  It  is 
the  record  of  salvation  offered  to  the  Jews.     The  Mes- 


10         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW, 

siah  comes  to  the  covenant  people.  Here  Christ  is  not 
sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel 
(15:24).  When  the  apostles  are  empowered  to  preach, 
their  instructions  begin :  "  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye 
not"  (10:5).  The  Jews  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom 
(8:12),  and  Gentile  is  synonymous  with  heathen:  *' Let 
him  be  unto  thee  as  the  Gentile*  and  the  publican " 
(18: 17):  "Use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the  Gentiles*  do" 
(6 : 7).  The  point  of  departure,  the  phenomena,  the  divine 
appellations,  the  drapery,  the  symbolism,  are  all  Jewish. 
Matthew  explains  no  facts,  no  laws  or  customs,  peculiar 
to  the  nation,  nor  does  he  describe  the  position  of  places 
in  Judea,  as  do  all  the  other  evangelists  (Mark  7:3,4; 
Luke  22:1;  John  4:9;  5:2).  In  this  Gospel  only  is 
Jerusalem  the  holy  city  (4 : 5),  the  city  of  the  great  King 
(5*35))  and  the  Jewish  temple  God's  dwelling-place 
(23:21),  the  holy  place  (24:15),  the  temple  of  God 
(26 : 6).  Here  only  does  Christ  assume  the  sacred  and 
sanctifying  power  of  the  temple  and  altar  (23:17-21), 
and  draw  from  the  altar  service  illustrations  of  obedience 
to  the  divine  requirement  (5  :  23,  24).  The  freedom  of 
the  nation  from  the  unclean  spirit  of  idolatry  is  distinct- 
ly recognized  (12  :  43-45) ;  authority  over  unclean  spirits 
is  given  to  the  apostles  (10:  i),  but  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  other  Synoptic  Gospels  there  is  no  instance  in 
Matthew  of  possession  by  a  spirit  designated  as  unclean. 
The  authority  of  those  who  sit  in  Moses'  seat  is  asserted, 
and    obedience    to    their    official    commands    enforced 

*  In  the  authorized  Version,  translated  **  heathen." 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.         n 

(23  : 1-3).  Only  in  this  Gospel  are  the  disciples  directed 
to  pray  that  their  flight  be  not  on  the  Sabbath-day 
(24 :  20).  In  Christ's  reply  to  those  who  accuse  him  of 
breaking  the  Sabbath,  in  addition  to  the  arguments 
common  to  other  gospels,  he  defends  himself  by  the 
custom  of  the  priests  in  the  temple  (12:15).  Our 
Lord's  genealogy  is  traced  to  Abraham,  and  marked  by 
the  great  events  in  Hebrew  history ;  for  Christ  is  here 
Son  of  David,  Son  of  Abraham,  heir  to  the  kingdom  and 
covenants.  In  Luke  it  ascends  to  Adam,  and  the  con- 
necting eras  are  both  civil  and  sacred  ;  for  there  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  humanity,  allied  to  the  whole  human  race. 
When  the  amazed  people  seem  on  the  point  of  recogni- 
zing the  Messiah,  they  give  expression  to  their  conviction 
in  the  words,  "Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David"  (12  :22) } 
Joseph,  the  reputed  father  of  Jesus,  is  addressed  by  the 
angel  as  Son  of  David  (i  :20).  The  blind  men  in  the 
house  cry,  "Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  us"  (9:27)  ; 
and  the  Syrophenician  woman  prays,  "  Have  mercy  on 
me,  O  Lord,  Son  of  David"  (15  :  22). 

The  symbolism  is  Jewish.  Not  to  speak  of  other 
examples,  the  symbolism  in  number  pervades  the  Gos- 
pel. Seven,  ten,  twelve,  with  their  multiples,  repeatedly 
appear.  The  genealogy  is  arranged  in  three  fourteens. 
There  are  fourteen  parables  divided  by  place  and  pur- 
pose into  two  sevens.  There  are  twenty  miracles  sepa- 
rated in  like  manner  into  two  tens.  The  number  seven 
generally  divides  itself  into  four  and  three,  the  human 
and  the  divine.  In  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Chris- 
tian character  is  sketched  in  seven  beatitudes  (5  : 1-9). 

2 


12         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

Of  these  the  first  four  are  exclusively  human — they  are 
states  which  Christ. cannot  share;  the  last  three  express 
emotions  and  conduct  which  belong  to  God  as  well  as 
man.  In  the  thirteenth  chapter  seven  parables  present 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  various  relations.  The  first 
four  are  from  the  human  side,  accidental,  „  temporary, 
varying — the  kingdom  in  its  historical  development,  as 
man  beholds  it ;  the  last  three  are  inherent,  essential — 
the  kingdom  as  seen  by  Christ,  who  joyfully  sells  all  that 
he  has,  that  he  may  buy  the  pearl  of  priceless  value  and 
the  field  in  which  the  treasure  is  hidden.  The  Lord's 
prayer  in  Matthew  has  seven  petitions  :  the  first  three 
relating  to  God,  co-ordinate,  co-equal ;  the  last  four  re- 
lating to  man,  joined  by  particles  of  sequence  (6:9-12). 

2.  It  is  the  kingly  gospel. 

The  genealogy  is  the  royal  succession,  giving  the 
heirs  of  the  throne.  David  the  king  begat  Solomon  the 
king,  Roboam  the  king,  etc.,  while  Luke  gives  either 
Joseph's  natural  lineage,  or,  what  is  more  probable  and 
more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  the 
maternal  ancestry  of  Jesus.  As  Christ's  regal  descent 
was  through  his  reputed  father,  the  divine  revelations  in 
our  Gospel  are  to  Joseph  ;  in  Luke,  the  Gospel  of  hu- 
manity, Mary,  through  whom  Christ  took  on  himself 
human  nature,  receives  the  angelic  announcement  (Luke 
I  :  27).  The  Magi  inquire,  "  Where  is  he  that  is  born 
King  of  the  Jews  "  (2  :  2)  }  Of  Bethlehem  it  is  said  :  "  Out 
of  thee  shall  come  a  Governor  who  shall  rule  my  people 
Israel "  (2  :6).  It  is  a  rival  king  that  seeks  to  kill  Christ 
(2:13).      John  the  Baptist  cries:  "Repent  ye,  for  the 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.         13 

kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand"  (3:2);  in  Mark  and  Luke 
he  preaches  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remission 
of  sins  (Mark  1:4;  Luke  3:3).  In  Matthew  angels 
minister  to  the  King  after  his  victory  over  the  tempter 
(4:11);  in  Luke  the  sufferer  receives  an  angel's  strength- 
ening help  during  the  agony  of  Gethsemane's  conflict 
(22:43).  The  authority  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
astonishes  the  multitudes  {y  \2^,  29),  as  they  recognize 
in  the  "But  I  say  unto  you"  (5  :22),  the  tones,  not  of  the 
interpreter  of  law,  but  of  the  Lawgiver  himself.  The 
genuineness  of  the  doxology  in  the  Lord's  prayer  is  very 
seriously  questioned,  but  it  is  significant  that  in  this 
Gospel  we  find  the  ascription,  "  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and 
the  power,  and  the  glory"  (6  :  13).  The  parables  are  all 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Luke,  the  evangelist  of 
humanity,  begins  his  parables  :  "  A  certain  man — went 
down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho"  (Luke  10:30);  made 
a  great  supper  (14:16);  had  two  sons  (15:11),  etc. 
Matthew's  parables,  with  three  exceptions,  begin  :  "  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like — unto  leaven  ;  unto  treasure  ; 
unto  a  net"  (13:33,  44,  47),  etc.  There  are  four  miracles 
peculiar  to  Matthew  ;  the  opening  the  eyes  of  two  blind 
men  in  the  house  (9:27-31);  the  cure  of  the  blind 
demoniac  (12  :  22)  ;  Peter's  walk  on  the  water  (14:24-29)  ; 
and  the  provision  of  the  tribute-money  (17:24-27). 
The  first  two  are  Jewish,  the  last  two  are  regal  ;  they 
show  the  kingly  character  of  Christ  and  his  followers. 
Only  in  this  Gospel  is  it  said  :  "The  Son  of  Man  shall 
send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his  king- 
dom all  things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity  " 


14         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW, 

(13  :4i)  ;  here  only  is  the  word  preached  the  word  of 
the  kingdom  (13:19);  and  that  which  in  the  other 
books  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  gospel,*  is  in  Mat- 
thew, with  a  single  exception,  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
(4  :  23  ;  9:35;  24  :  14).  Here  only  does  our  Lord  give 
Peter  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (16  :  19).  Only 
in  this  Gospel,  and  here  twice,  does  he  speak  of  the  Son 
of  Man  sitting  on  the  throne  of  his  glory  (19 :  28  ; 
25  :  31)  ;  here  only  does  he  gather  all  nations  before  his 
throne  for  judgment,  and  apply  to  himself  those  wonder- 
ful words,  "  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them,"  "  And 
the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them"  (25  :  34,  40). 
At  the  royal  entry  into  Jerusalem  the  multitudes  cry, 
and  .the  children  in  the  temple  repeat  the  ascription, 
"  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,"  a  title  which  recognizing 
him  as  the  Jewish  king  sorely  displeased  the  chief  priests 
and  scribes,  and  drew  from  them  a  strong  remonstrance 
(21  :9-i6).  Matthew  alone  tells  us  that  in  the  closing 
hours  of  Christ's  life,  more  than  ten  legions  of  angels 
awaited  his  word  (26  153);  that  at  his  death  the  earth 
was  shaken,  and  the  rocks  were  rent,  and  the  graves 
were  opened  (27:51-53) — heaven,  earth,  and  hades  all 
acknowledging  their  king  ;  and  the  Gospel  closes  with 
the  assurance  that  in  heaven  and  in  earth  Christ  has  ex- 
clusive authority  (28  :  19). 

The  kingly  character  of  Christ  in  this  Gospel  differs 
from  that  in  Luke  and  John.  Here  he  is  born  King  of 
the  Jews  (2:2);  in  Luke  his  kingship  is  in  the  future, 
appointed  to  him  by  his  Father  (22  :  29)  ;   in  John  he 

*  Of  the  kingdom,  INIark  I  :  14,  is  probably  an  interpolation. 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  AIATTHEW.         15 

reigns  now,  but  his  domain  is  different  from  that  of  either 
of  the  preceding  Gospels  (John  18  136,  37) :  on  his  head 
are  many  crowns  (Rev.  19:12).  And  because  in  Matthew 
and  John  alone  does  he  now  occupy,  in  the  one  his  innate, 
and  in  the  other  his  essential,  office,  in  those  Gospels  only 
is  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah  quoted  :  "  Tell  ye  the  daugh- 
ter of  Zion,  Behold  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee  sitting  on 
an  ass's  colt"  (Matt.  21  15  ;  John  12:  15).  Luke  says, 
"  The  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David  "  (i  :  32),  a  promise  yet  to  be  accomplished ; 
and  in  the  parable  of  the  talents,  he  represents  the  noble- 
man as  going  into  a  far  country  to  receive  for  himself  a 
kingdom,  and  to  return  (19:12).  In  Matthew  our  Lord 
is  worshipped  from  his  birth  (2  \2,Z,  11);  in  Luke  not 
until  his  ascension  (24  :  52). 

3.  It  is  the  Gospel  of  Rejection.  Compare  the  intro- 
duction of  this  Gospel  with  that  of  Luke,  the  Gospel  of 
Acceptance.  In  the  one  the  advent  of  Christ  is  hailed 
with  joy  by  all.  Zacharias,  Elisabeth,  Mary,  Simeon, 
Anna,  the  angels,  the  shepherds,  pour  forth  their  exult- 
ing praise  in  canticles  sung  by  the  church  in  all  ages. 
When  a  boy  of  twelve  years  he  sits  in  the  temple,  the 
centre  of  an  admiring  circle,  astonishing  them  by  his  un- 
derstanding and  his  answers ;  and  the  second  chapter 
closes  :  "  Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in 
favor  with  God  and  man."  In  the  other,  before  Christ  is 
born  he  exposes  his  mother  to  the  danger  of  repudiation 
by  her  husband,  from  which  she  is  saved  only  by  divine 
interposition ;  at  his  birth  Jerusalem  is  troubled,  and 
Herod  seeks  to  kill  the  young  child  j  on  the  plains  of 

2'* 


1 6         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

Bethlehem,  in  place  of  the  chorus  sweeping  through  the 
midnight  sky,  the  wail  of  mothers  for  their  slaughtered 
babes  is  heard  ;  instead  of  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly 
host,  a  solitary  spectre  is  seen — Rachel  from  her  tomb 
looks  in  vain  for  her  children,  and  bewails  their  loss ; 
Christ  returns  from  Egypt,  and  for  thirty  years  his  life  is 
covered  by  a  single  sentence,  with  which  this  second 
chapter  closes  :  *'  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene." 

In  this  Gospel  he  withdraws  from  Judea,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  imprisonment  of  his  forerunner,  John  the 
Baptist  (4:  12),  and  begins  an  itinerant  ministry  in  Gali- 
lee. In  Luke  no  such  reason  is  assigned  :  "  He  returned 
in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  into  Galilee"  (4: 14).  In  both 
Gospels  great  multitudes  follow  him  (4 :  25)  ;  they  see 
the  proofs  of  his  power  (9 :  8) ;  they  are  astonished  at  his 
doctrine  (7  :  28 ;  22 :  23)  ;  they  marvel  and  are  amazed 
(9:33;  22:23);  but  Luke  adds  what  is  not  found  in 
Matthew :  He  taught  in  their  synagogues,  being  glorified 
by  all;  they  wondered  at  the  words  of  grace  which  pro- 
ceed out  of  his  mouth  (4 :  22) ;  the  people  gladly  re- 
ceived him,  for  they  were  all  waiting  for  him  (8  :  40)  ;  they 
stayed  him  that  he  should  not  depart  from  them  (4:42). 
Even  in  the  embittered  hostility  which  marked  the  last 
days  of  Christ's  intercourse  with  the  Jewish  people,  Luke 
tells  us  that  from  certain  of  the  scribes  came  commen- 
dation of  Christ's  replies:  "Master,  thou  hast  well  said" 
(20 :  39).  Matthew's  Gospel  is  the  record  of  the  national 
opposition  to  Christ,  and  of  Christ's  withdrawal  from  that 
opposition.  The  word  ava,rwpew  is  characteristic  of  this 
Evangelist;  found  once  in  Mark  (3  :  7),  and  once  in  John, 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        17 

(6  :  15),  and  not  at  all  in  Luke,  it  occurs  ten  times  in  Mat- 
thew. At  the  beginning  of  our  Lord's  work  in  this  Gos- 
pel, we  read  those  sad  words  recorded  near  the  close  by 
Luke,  in  which  Christ  declares  the  inveterate  rancor  of 
his  foes,  and  the  result  of  their  determined  pursuit  as 
foreseen  by  him :  The  foxes  have  holes  where  they  may 
escape  from  their  pursuers,  the  birds  of  the  air  have  shel- 
ters where  they  are  safe,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  no 
place  where  he  may  lay  his  head  ;  he  will  be  hunted  to 
the  death  (8:20).  In  this  Gospel  Christ's  life  begins 
with  withdrawal  from  his  enemies  ;  to  escape  the  mur- 
derous rage  of  Herod  he  withdraws  into  Egypt  (2:14)  ; 
on  his  return  he  withdraws  into  Galilee  for  fear  of  Arche- 
laus  (2  :  22).  His  public  ministry  commences  and  contin- 
ues in  the  same  way :  Now  when  Jesus  had  heard  that  John 
was  delivered  up,  he  withdrew  into  Galilee  (4 :  12).  The 
Pharisees  follow  him,  and  hold  a  council  against  him  how 
they  may  destroy  him  :  **  But  when  Jesus  knew  it  he  with- 
drew himself  thence"  (12:15).  Jobn  the  Baptist  is  put  to 
death :  When  Jesus  heard  of  it  he  withdrew  by  ship  into 
a  desert  place  apart  (14  :  13).  Still  pursued  by  the  Phar- 
isees he  withdraws  from  Judea  into  the  borders  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon  (15  :2i) ;  he  returns  and  evades  his  pursuers 
by  crossing  and  recrossing  the  lake  of  Gennesaret  (15: 39) ; 
until  finally,  the  purpose  of  his  earthly  life  accomplished, 
he  ascends  to  Jerusalem  to  die  (19:1).  And  because 
Matthew's  Gospel  is  a  history  of  withdrawals,  he  does 
not  record  the  journeys  through  Perea  in  which  Christ 
goes  to  meet  his  enemies  ;  in  Luke  that  journey  occupies 
nearly  one-half  of  the  Gospel.     For  in  Luke  Jesus  con- 


i8         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

fronts  and  defies  hostility :  "  Go  ye  and  tell  that  fox,  be 
replies  to  those  who  would  drive  him  from  Galilee  by  a 
threat  of  Herod,  I  cast  out  devils  and  do  cures  to-day  and 
to-morrow  and  the  third  day  I  shall  be  perfected  "(13:32). 
In  Luke  he  bids  his  disciples  prepare  for  resistance  :  "  He 
that  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment  and  buy  one  " 
(22  :  36) ;  in  Matthew  the  injunction  is,  "  When  they  per- 
rsecute  you  in  this  city,  flee  ye  into  another"  (10  :  23). 

The  characteristic  of  rejection  governs  the  death  as 
well  as  the  life  of  Christ.  Matthew  records  but  one^cry 
on  the  cross;  it  is  that  desolate  wail :  "  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  "  (27  :  46).  In  another  Gospel 
there  follow  him  to  Calvary  a  great  company  of  people 
and  of  women,  who  bewail  and  lament  him  (Luke  23  :  27) ; 
and  when  the  sad  deed  is  consummated,  all  the  peo- 
ple that  came  together  to  that  sight  smite  their  breasts 
and  return  (23:48);  but  in  Matthew  no  penitent  thief 
prays,  Lord,  remember  me;  no  word  of  sympathy  from 
any  human  voice  is  heard ;  on  the  contrary,  those  that 
pass  by  revile  him  (27  :  39) ;  and  the  chief  priests  mock- 
ing him,  with  the  scribes  and  elders,  cry:  "  He  trusted  in 
God  ;  let  him  deliver  him  now  if  he  will  have  him"  (27 :  43). 
Only  in  this  Gospel  do  the  enemies  of  Christ  carry  their 
malice  beyond  the  crucifixion,  and  set  a  seal  and  guard 
to  prevent  his  resurrection  (27  :62,  65). 

This  Gospel  necessarily  excludes  the  idea  of  success. 
Christ  is  rejected,  and  the  disciple  must  be  as  his  master 
(10:24,  25).  Hence  there  is  a  remarkable  absence  of 
motive  or  encouragement  founded  on  what  will  be  accom- 
plished.    In  Luke,  when  Peter  is  called  to  follow  Christ, 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.         19 

a  miraculous  draught  of  fishes  foretells  success  in  catch- 
ing men  ;  but  this  incident  is  omitted  by  Matthew  (Luke 
5  :  4-10  ;  Matt.  4  :  18-20).  In  the  commission  to  the  apos- 
tles in  the  tenth  chapter — a  commission  covering  succes- 
sively the  three  eras,  to  Christ's  death  (5-15),  to  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  (16-23),  to  the  end  of  the  age 
(24-42) — the  one  thought  is,  you  will  share  the  treatment 
your  Master  receives,  but  your  Heavenly  Father  sees  all, 
knows  all,  and  will  at  the  end  reward  all ;  just  as  Christ's 
only  assurance  to  his  disciples,  when  he  sends  them  to  all 
nations  is  :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you"  (28  :  20).  Of  Christ  him- 
self no  success  in  this  age  is  asserted.  Matthew  has  no 
prediction  like  that  in  John  :  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me"  (12  123) ;  it  is  simply 
stated :  "  This  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in 
all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations,  and  then  shall 
the  end  come"  (24:14).  Of  the  forerunner,  Matthew 
says  :  "  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight"  (3:3); 
but  he.does  not  add  what  is  found  in  Luke  :  "  Every  valley 
shall  be  filled,  and  every  mountain  shall  be  brought  low ; 
and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
ways  shall  be  male  smooth,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  the 
salvation  of  God"  (3:5,  6). 

This  feature  of  the  rejection  of  Christ  by  the  nation 
gives  tone  to  all  our  Lord's  teaching  in  the  Gospel. 
Here  only  do  we  find  the  declaration,  *'  Strait  is  the  gate 
and  narrow  is  the  way  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few 
there  be  that  find  it"  (7:  14).  In  Luke  the  injunction, 
"  Strive  to  enter  in,"  is  enforced  on  the  ground  that  now 


20         GOSFEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW, 

the  gate  can  be  entered,  and  the  time  comes  when  it  will 
be  shut  (Luke  13  124);  in  Matthew  the  reason  for  the 
exhortation  is  a  truth  which  finds  expression  only  here : 
"  Wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to 
destruction,  and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat" 
(7 :  13).  Only  in  this  Gospel  are  we  told  that  many  are 
called,  but  few  chosen  (22  :  14) ;  that  in  the  closing  peri- 
od of  the  age  the  love  of  the  majority  (rwv  TtoWa^v)  shall  wax 
cold  (24: 12)  ;  that  many  will  claim  in  that  day,  *'Lord, 
Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name,  and  in  thy 
name  have  cast  out  devils,  and  in  thy  name  done  many 
wonderful  works  ?"  to  whom  Christ  will  say,  "  I  never  knew 
you  "  (7 :  22,  23)  ;  here  only  do  we  read  of  the  tares  that 
are  to  be  gathered  out  of  the  wheat  field  in  the  time  of 
harvest  and  burned  (13  :  30) ;  of  the  net  that  gathered  of 
every  kind,  which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore, 
and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,,  and  cast  the  bad 
away  (13  147,  48)  ;  of  the  foolish  virgins  (25  : 2)  ;  of  the 
man  without  the  wedding  garment;  and  of  the  outer 
darkness  into  which  they  shall  be  cast  (22:12,  13). 
Matthew  and  Luke  both  record  Christ's  saying  :  "  He  that 
is  not  with  me  is  against  me"  (Matt.  12:30;  Luke  11:23;; 
but  Matthew  does  not  give,  as  do  Mark  and  Luke,  the 
other  saying  of  our  Lord  :  "  He  that  is  not  against  you  is 
on  your  part "  (Mark  9  :  39  ;  Luke  9  :  50). 

The  statement  sometimes  made  that  Matthew's  Gospel 
was  written  to  convince  the  Jew  of  the  truth  of  Christi- 
anity, conveys  a  very  erroneous  impression  of  its  struc- 
ture and  contents.  Our  Lord  and  his  disciples  are  not 
here  shown  in  close  and  pleasing  conformity  to  the  Mo- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEVA        21 

saic  ritual.  Matthew,  the  writer  of  the  Gospel,  was  him- 
self one  of  a  rejected  and  despised  class,  with  whom  no 
reputable  Jew  would  so  much  as  eat  (9:11).  It  is  a 
later  Gospel  that  begins  and  ends  with  the  temple;  that 
records  the  priestly  descent  of  the  forerunner  of  Christ 
(1:5);  the  circumcision  of  both  John  and  Jesus  (i  :  59 ; 
2:21);  the  presentation  of  the  infant  Redeemer  to  the 
Lord  (2  :  22) ;  the  performance  of  all  things  according  to 
the  law  (2  :  39),  and  his  appearance  in  the  temple  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years  in  obedience  to  the  Jewish  custom 
(2  :42).  It  is  Luke,  not  Matthew,  who  brings  before  us 
at  the  commencement  an  aged  pair  walking  in  all  the 
Jewish  ordinances,  and  at  the  close  the  disciples  resting 
on  the  Sabbath-day,  according  to  the  commandment 
(23  :  56) ;  who  gives  Christ's  parting  injunction,  "Begin  at 
Jerusalem"  (24:47);  whose  Gospel  ends  with  the  disci- 
ples in  the  temple  praising  and  blessing  God  (24:53). 
Matthew  records  no  appearance  of  the  risen  Lord  in  Ju- 
dea,  but  leaves  the  disciples  in  Galilee  (28  :  16).  Books 
which  present  Christianity  in  Jewish  forms,  like  the  first 
Epistle  of  Peter,  which  show  the  Mosaic  types  fulfilled 
in  Christ,  like  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  must  come 
after  this  Gospel.  Christ  must  be  accepted  as  a  spiritual 
King  before  the  Messianic  blessings  can  be  actualized. 
Hence  the  scrupulous  care  with  which  this  purely  spirit- 
ual work  is  kept  unmingled  with  any  other  element.  In 
Matthew  the  first  characterization  of  the  coming  Messiah 
is,  "Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his 
people  from  their  sins"  (1:21);  and  the  first  miracle  is  in 
accordance  with  its  statement  of  the  mission  of  Christ — ■ 


22         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

the  cure  of  leprosy,  the  symbol  of  sin  (8  :  2-4).  The  first 
miracle  in  Luke  is  in  sympathy  with  its  opening  songs — 
deliverance  from  enemies  (i  :7i)  ;  Christ  rescues  a  man 
from  the  power  of  an  unclean  demon  (4: 33-36).  Through- 
out Matthew  the  true  nature  of  Christ's  kingship  is  care- 
fully and  clearly  set  forth.  All  the  other  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  speak  of  the  kingdom  which  John  and 
Christ  preached  as  the  kingdom  of  God.  Matthew,  with 
five  exceptions,  always  says  "kingdom  of  heaven,"  a 
term  which  he  alone  employs.  "  Kingdom  of  God,"  to 
Jewish  ears,  might  mean  a  civil  polity  like  the  original 
constitution  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  in  which  no 
earthly  ruler  was  acknowledged  and  God  was  recognized 
as  the  immediate  Head  of  the  state  ;  in  that  case  the  new 
kingdom  could  be  the  old  one  renovated,  defecated,  enno- 
bled, and  clothed  with  universal  dominion.  The  phrase, 
"kingdom  of  heaven,"  was  subject  to  no  such  ambiguity. 
It  set  forth  a  dispensation  radically  unlike  any  earthly 
dynasty.  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  Christ  expounds 
his  kingdom  ;  in  it  he  fulfils  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
not  by  obeying  their  precepts,  which  is  never  fulfilling  a 
law ;  not  by  enforcing  obedience  to  them,  which  again 
is  never  fulfilling  law,  but  by  making  actual  that  right- 
eousness which  they  had  in  view.  He  presents  a  sys- 
tem, not  of  preparation,  but  of  perfection ;  not  of  laws, 
but  of  principles.  The  Mosaic  code  was  a  collection  of 
rules  to  be  obeyed ;  the  precepts  in  the  Gospel  of  Mat- 
thew "  are  positively  mischievous  to  those  who  try  to 
obey  them  as  rules,  instead  of  using  them  as  aids  to  the 
apprehension  of  that  perfection,  in  which  every  man  is  a 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        23 

law  to  himself."  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  Christ 
brushes  away  from  the  Mosaic  law  unauthorized  Jewish 
accretions.  This  is  only  incidental.  He  does  far  more. 
He  contrasts  what  was  commanded  to  their  fathers  with 
what  he  commands.*  He  repeals  laws  of  Moses  which 
entered  into  the  whole  civil  and  social  policy  of  the  Jews, 
He  declares  that  the  new  garment  is  not  the  old  one 
patched,  and  that  for  the  new  wine  there  must  be  new 
vessels  (9:16,  17).  There  were  three  national  distinctions 
that  the  Jews  in  Christ's  time  specially  valued  :  the  tem- 
ple, the  Sabbath,  and  the  ceremonial  prohibition  of  certain 
kinds  of  food.  Around  these  raged  the  warfare  between 
Christ  and  the  Jewish  leaders.  In  our  Gospel  he  asserts 
that  he  is  greater  than  the  temple  (12  :6),  that  he  is  Lord 
of  the  Sabbath  (12  :  8),  and  he  pronounces  all  food  clean 
(15  :  11).  He  annuls  the  laws  of  divorce  (5  :  32  ;  19  :  9). 
He  denounces  the  authorities  of  the  nation  (23  :  1-5) ; 
he  accuses  them  of  making  God's  commandments  of 
none  effect  on  the  dne  hand  (15  : 6),  and  on  the  other  of 
perverting  the  whole  purpose  of  the  Levitical  dispensa- 
tion. God  meant  it  as  an  instrument  of  redemption  ; 
they  made  it  a  system  of  ritual  observance.  God  sought 
to  provide  a  way  in  which  he  could  show  mercy  to  sin- 
ners ;  they  made  him  intent  on  receiving  sacrifices 
(12:7).  He  charges  that  as  soon  as  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  was  preached  by  John  the  Baptist,  they  laid  vio- 
lent hands  on  it,  and  continually  endeavored  to  wrest  it 
from  its  purpose  and  pervert  its  character  (11  :  12) ;  that 

*  eppe^Ti  Tolc  apxaiotg  (5:21)  is  not,  It  has  been  said  dj/  them  of  old 
time,  but,  to  them  of  old  time. 

3 


24         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

when  John  would  not  dance  to  their  piping  nor  Christ 
mourn  to  their  wailing,  they  stigmatized  the  one  as  pos- 
sessed by  a  demon,  and  the  other  as  a  friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners  (ii  :  16-19)  ;  that  by  their  acknowledged  in- 
ability to  decide  the  position  of  John  the  Baptist,  they 
voluntarily  abdicated  their  place  as  the  religious  guides 
of  the  nation,  and  thus  convicted  by  their  own  confes- 
sion {21:27),  convicted  by  the  conduct  of  abandoned 
sinners  (21  131),  convicted  by  the  law  (21  :  33-41),  and 
convicted  by  the  Gospel  (22  : 1-8),  nothing  remained  for 
them  but  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  fathers  by  put- 
ting Christ  to  death  (23  :  32). 

In  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  our  Lord,  as  record- 
ed by  Matthew,  the  nature  of  the  Messiahship  and  the 
fulness  of  the  national  rejection  are  clearly  seen.  The 
trial  is  mainly  that  before  the  Sanhedrim,  as  Luke  is  oc- 
cupied with  that  before  Pilate.  The  charge  relates  to 
his  divine  Sonship  and  his  alleged  purpose  to  destroy  the 
temple  (26  :  59,  66) ;  we  hear  nothing  of  the  social  accu- 
sation, found  elsewhere,  of  perverting  the  nation  and  for- 
bidding to  give  tribute  to  Caesar.  (Luke  23  : 2.)  Only 
in  this  Gospel,  and  here  twice,  does  Pilate  formally  put 
the  solemn  question,  "  Whom  will  ye  that  I  release  unto 
you,  Barabbas,  or  Jesus  who  is  called  Christ  ?"  Twice 
they  decide  to  take  Barabbas,  and,  Matthew  significantly 
adds,  destroy  Jesus  (27 :  17,  22).  After  the  disclaimer  of 
Pilate,  we  find  only  in  Matthew  those  fearful  words  by 
which  the  nation  assumed  the  whole  guilt  of  the  crime : 
"  Then  answered  all  the  people,  His  blood  be  on  us  and 
on  our  children"  (27  :  25). 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        25 

This  Gospel  of  rejection  is  necessarily  Christ's  rejec- 
tion of  the  nation.  Only  here  do  we  read  :  "  The  king- 
dom of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a  na- 
tion bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof"  (21  :43).  Here 
only  does  Christ,  portraying  the  return  of  the  unclean 
spirit  to  his  former  habitation,  making  the  last  state  of 
the  man  worse  than  the  first,  say,  "  Even  so  shall  it  be  also 
unto  this  wicked  generation"  (12  145).  Here  only  does 
he  declare  that  the  horrible  assertion.  He  doth  not  cast 
out  demons  but  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  demons 
(12  :24),  was  the  exponent  and  proof  of  a  depravity  so 
thorough  and  complete,  that  when  God  and  the  devil 
stood  before  them  they  could  not  tell  one  from  the  oth- 
er ;  they  had  lost  the  power  of  discriminating  between 
heaven  and  hell,  between  infinite  compassion  and  demo- 
niac hate  ;  and  that  this  terrible  moral  condition  of  heart 
and  tongue  was  on  the  very  verge  of  remediless  ruin 
(12  :  33-37).  Here  only  does  he  quote  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  :  **  By  hearing,  ye  shall  hear  and  shall  not  under- 
stand ;  and  seeing,  ye  shall  see  and  not  perceive :  for 
this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull 
of  hearing,  and  their  eyes  they  have  closed ;  lest  at  any 
time  they  should  see  with  their  eyes  and  hear  with  their 
ears,  and  should  understand  with  their  heart,  and  should 
be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them  "  (13  :  14,  15).  Here 
only  does  he  say  of  the  religious  teachers  of  the  Jews : 
"  Every  plant  that  my  Father  hath  not  planted  shall  be 
rooted  up"  (15:13).  All  the  parables  spoken  in  public 
after  the  thirteenth  chapter — of  the  two  sons  (21:28), 
of  the  householder  (21 :33),  and  of  the  marriage  of  the 


26         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

king's  son  (22 : 2) — set  forth  the  national  sin  and  de- 
struction. The  closing"  miracle  is  the  blasting  of  the  fig- 
tree,  the  emblem  of  the  fate  of  the  nation — covered  with 
green  leaves,  the  promise  of  fertility,  but  bearing  no 
fruit  (21  :  19).  The  last  public  discourse  is  an  arraign- 
ment of  the  heads  of  the  nation ;  with  burning  indigna- 
tion he  portrays  their  character  and  history,  bids  them, 
in  words  found  only  in  Matthew,  "  Fill  ye  up  the  measure 
of  your  fathers"  (23  132) ;  and  with  the  terrible  inquiry, 
"  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape 
the  damnation  of  hell "  (23  :  33)  ?  pronounces  their  doom, 
and  departs  for  ever  from  the  temple  (21:1).  Compare 
all  this  with  the  last  sentence  in  Luke's  account  of  the 
public  ministry  of  Christ :  "  And  in  the  day  time  he  was 
teaching  in  the  temple,  and  at  night  he  went  out  and 
abode  in  the  Mount  of  Olives ;  and  all  the  people  came 
early  in  the  morning  to  him  in  the  temple  for  to  hear 
him"  (21:37,  38). 

4.  The  refusal  of  the  nation  to  receive  their  Messiah 
results  in  "  a  new  covenant,  a  new  election,  a  new  legis- 
lation, a  new  community."  When  the  world  in  former 
times  had  rejected  God,  he  raised  up  a  nation  of  which 
he  should  be  Head  and  Lawgiver.  When  this  nation 
rejects  Christ,  he  calls  a  people  to  whom  he  shall  stand 
in  still  closer  relation  as  Head  and  sole  Lawgiver.  He 
gathers  a  small  company  of  disciples  who  attend  him 
constantly  (4  :  18-22  ;  5:1;  10  :  i),  and  who  finally  rec- 
ognize his  divine  character  (16: 16).  When  this  is  ac- 
complished he  is  ready  for  the  cross.  In  his  address  to 
the  Father,  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  John,  he  says : 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        27 

"  I  have  finished  the  work  thou  gavest  me  to  do.  I  have 
manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest 
me  out  of  the  world.  I  have  given  unto  them  the  words 
which  thou  gavest  me,  and  they  have  received  them,  and 
have  known  surely  that  I  came  out  from  thee,  and  they 
have  believed  that  thou  didst  send  me.  As  thou  hast 
sent  me  into  the  world,  even  also  have  I  sent  them  into 
the  world.  And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have 
given  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one." 
The  persons  thus  qualified  and  endowed  are  to  be  Christ's 
representatives,  the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  light  of  the 
world  (5:13,  14).  When  they  have  rightly  apprehended 
his  nature  and  mission,  he  makes  known  to  them  his  in- 
tention to  constitute  a  church — an  ecclesia,  a  selection  of 
individuals — comprising  those  persons  to  whom  Christ 
is  revealed  by  the  Father :  "  I  will  build  my  church  upon 
this  rock"— the  divinely  imparted  knowledge  of  Christ 
(16:  17-19).  This  is  the  nation  to  which  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  given,  for  it  will  bring  forth  the  fruits 
thereof,  (i  Peter  2  : 9.)  The  church  differs  from  the 
old  dispensation  not  only  in  membership,  but  in  dura- 
tion. That  was  founded  on  natural  relationship,  and  its 
ties  cannot  outlast  the  grave.  This  is  of  spiritual  ori- 
gin ;  earth  and  time  do  not  bound  it ;  death  does  not  sun- 
der its  connection ;  the  gates  of  hades  shall  not  prevail 
against  it : 

"  The  saints  on  earth,  and  all  the  dead 
But  one  communion  make." 

No  Evangelist  but  Matthew  mentions  the   church, 
and  he  announces  its  constitution,  membership,  duties, 

3* 


28         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

discipline  and  ordinances.  The  commands  to  administer 
and  observe  the  rites  of  baptism  (28:19)  and  the  com- 
munion (26:26,  27),  are  given  only  in  this  Gospel* 
Here  only  is  found  the  sacred  formula  used  at  the  initia- 
ting ordinance  of  the  Christian  church  :  In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
(28:19). 

HI.  The  Gospel  according  to  Matthew  is  thus,  by 
its  very  nature,  official  and  organic,  having  primarily 
to  do  with  these  two  nations — that  from  which  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  taken  (21:43),  ^^^  that  to  which 
it  is  given  (i  Pet.  2:9);  the  one  outward,  carnal,  Jew- 
ish, the  other  spiritual,  holy.  Christian  ;  the  one  rejected, 
the  other  founded  and  proleptically  organized.  Christ 
comes  to  the  nation.  He  deals,  as  God  dealt  throughout 
the  Old  Testament,  with  an  organic  body  acting  through 
lawfully  constituted  and  acknowledged  representatives. 
The  persons  connected  with  the  infancy  of  Christ  all 
hold  official  stations;  the  parables  ^are  all  organic  or 
official ;  the  duties  inculcated  are  all  organic  ;  the  final 
scene  is  the  judgment  of  the  nations  ;  and  the  commis- 
sion at  the  close  of  the  Gospel  is  the  official  one  :  "  Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  disciple  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you"  (28  :  19,  20).  The  official  relation 
of  John  the  Baptist  is  constantly  noticed,  the  great  stages 
of  Christ's  work  being  preceded  by  a  statement  of  the 
position  of  John  (4:  14;   11:2;   14:12;    17:11-13).     In 

*  In  Mark  14 :  22  (pdyere,  eat  is  an  interpolation. 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        29 

Luke  this  is  passed  over  in  some  cases  with  no  mention, 
and  in  others  with  brief  allusion,  but  the  same  Evangelist 
gives  in  detail  Herod's  scornful  treatment  of  our  Lord  just 
before  his  crucifixion  (23  :  7-1 1),  to  which,  as  it  is  mere- 
ly individual,  like  Christ's  personal  friendships,  Matthew 
does  not  refer.  He  records  the  formal  request  of  the 
sons  of  Zebedee  for  official  position  (20:20-23);  Luke 
omits  this  incident,  but  narrates  the  personal  strife  of  the 
disciples  on  another  occasion  as  to  who  should  be  the 
the  greatest  (23  :  24).  The  denunciations  in  this  Gospel 
are  of  the  national  authorities,  as  elsewhere  they  are  of 
character  and  conditions  (Matt.  23  ;  Luke  6 :  24-26). 
Here  the  woes  are  pronounced  against  the  representa- 
tives and  guides  of  the  people.  No  Gospel  but  this  tells 
us  that  in  the  last  days  many  false  prophets  shall  arise 
and  shall  deceive  many  (24:  i) ;  none  but  this  warns  us 
against  false  teachers,  ravening  wolves  in  sheep's  cloth- 
ing (7:15),  blind  guides  straining  out  a  gnat  and  swal- 
lowing a  camel  (23:24),  shutting  up  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  against  men  (23  :  13). 

The  impersonal  character  of  Matthew's  narratives  is 
one  of  his  most  marked  characteristics.  Of  our  Lord's 
unofficial  relations  to  individuals  our  Gospel  makes  no 
mention  until  the  rejection  has  been  consummated  by  the 
death  on  the  cross  (27:56,  57).*  Before  that  time  there 
is  no  account  of  those  personal  friendships  and  affections 
which  appear  in  Luke  so  abundantly  and  in  John  almost 
exclusively.  Here  there  is  no  reference  to  the  family  in 
Bethany  (Luke  12  :  38;  John  12:2) ;  no  loving  catalogue 

*  The  change  in  this  respect,  beginning  at  verse  55,  is  very  striking. 


30         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

of  the  names  of  the  women  who  followed  with  the  twelve, 
and  ministered  to  him  of  their  substance  (Luke  8:2,  3) ; 
no  commendation,  as  in  other  Gospels,  of  the  poor  widow 
who  threw  her  two  mites  into  the  treasury  (Mark 
12:41-44;  Luke  21:1-4).  The  anointing  by  Mary  is 
inserted  to  explain  the  conduct  of  the  Sanhedrim  in  seiz- 
ing Christ  at  the  Passover  contrary  to  their  previous  in- 
tention, but  the  name  of  Mary  is  not  given  (26:1-16). 

.  There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the  position  of 
Satan  in  this  Gospel  and  that  which  he  holds  in  Luke  and 
John.  Here  he  is  the  official  head  of  a  kingdom  in  con- 
flict with  the  kingdom  of  Christ ;  there  his  individual 
dealings  with  individuals  are  essential  elements  in  the  his- 
tory. (Luke  23:3,  32;  13:16;  John  13:27).  In  the  nar- 
rative part  of  his  Gospel,  Matthew  never  calls  Peter  by  his 
personal  name  Simon,  as  do  the^vangelists,  but  always 
by  his  official  name  Peter  (Luke  5  :  3,  10) ;  in  like  manner 
he  himself  is  styled  Levi  by  Mark  and  Luke,  but  here  is 
found  only  his  apostolic  name,  Matthew.  Thei  genealogy 
of  Christ  is  given  in  the  order  of  descent,  the  form  of  the 
official  records,  while  Luke  gives  the  roll  of  our  Lord's 
ancestors  in  the  ascending  series — the  way  most  natural 
in  the  narrative  of  an  individual  life.  If  Matthew,  in 
the  narratives  common  to  the  .  Synoptic  Gospels,  de- 
parts from  the  arrangement  of  the  other  Evangelists,  the 
reason  can  always  be  found  in  the  distinctive  character 
of  his  Gospel.  In  the  account  of  the  temptation,  for  ex- 
ample, he  presents,  first  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness, 
then  that  in  the  temple,  then  that  on  the  mountain.  In 
Luke,  the  arrangement  of  the  last  two  is  reversed.     The 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        31 

'reason  for  the  divergence  is  obvious.  In  Matthew  the 
temptations  are  official  and  follow  the  official  order :  Son 
of  Man,  Son  of  God,  Messiah — undo  the  Incarnation, 
violate  the  Divine  relation,  abdicate  the  Messiahship; 
Luke,  the  individual  Gospel,  adopts  the  sequence  of  an 
individual  experience — the  temptation  to  spiritual  pride 
and  presumption  coming  naturally  after  other  forms  of 
solicitation  to  evil  have  been  successfully  resisted. 

In  God's  arrangement,  the  national,  official  offer  and 
rejection  must  precede  the  seeking  for  individuals — those 
for  whom  the  supper  was  prepared  must  refuse  the  invi- 
tation before  the  command  is  given.  Go  ye  therefore  into 
the  highways,  and  as  many  as  ye  shall  find  bid  to  the 
marriage  (22:9).  The  time  for  the  free,  indiscriminate 
offer  of  salvation  to  all  and  by  all  is  not  yet  come,  and 
hence  in  this  Gospel,  none  but  the  apostles  preach  the 
glad  tidings,  and  they  are  restricted  to  their  own  nation 
(10:  5,  6).  In  the  latter  Gospels,  the  man  out  of  whom 
the  legion  of  demons  had  been  cast  entreats  permission 
to  remain  with  Christ,  but  Jesus  sends  him  away,  saying, 
"  Return  to  thine  own  house,  and  show  how  great  things 
God  hath  done  unto  thee"  (Mark  5: 18,  19;  Luke  8 138, 39) ; 
in  Matthew  there  is  no  such  direction  (8:28-33).  In 
Luke,  to  the  man  who  begs  leave  to  go  and  bury  his 
father,  Christ  says,  "  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead,  but  go 
thou  and  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (9  :  60) ;  this  latter 
clause  is  omitted  by  Matthew  (8  :  23}.  No  Samaritan 
woman  here  tells  the  story  of  her  conversion,  and  brings 
a  whole  village  to  Christ  (John  4 :  28-40) ;  no  one,  as  in 
the  other  Gospels,  casts  out  demons  in  Christ's  name  who 


32        GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

does  not  follow  with  the  disciples  (Mark  9:38;  Luke 
9:49). 

In  this  Gospel  the  evidence  which  accompanies  the 
Messianic  claims  is  fundamental,  official,  and  complete. 
Here  only  is  the  will  of  God  revealed  in  dreams,  the 
method  adapted  to  the  lowest  stage  of  spiritual  develop- 
ment  (1:20;  2:12,  13,  19,  22;  27:19);  earthquakes 
attend  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord 
(27 :  5 1  ;  28  : 2) ;  the  graves  are  opened  and  the  dead 
arise  (27:52);  the  angel  who  rolls  back  the  stone  from 
the  door  of  the  tomb  appears  to  the  keepers,  who,  terri- 
fied at  the  sight,  become  as  dead  men  (28  :2,  4);  Judas, 
his  betrayer,  brings  again  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to 
the  chief  priests  and  elders,  and  casting  them  down  in 
the  temple,  says :  "  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed 
the  innocent  blood"  (27:3,  5)  ;  Pilate,  his  judge,  washes 
his  hands  in  testimony  of  the  groundlessness  of  the 
accusation  against  Christ  (27:24);  the  Roman  guard  at 
the  cross  declare  their  belief  in  Christ's  divinity  (27  :  54); 
his  persecutors  give  public  declaration  of  our  Lord's 
prediction  of  his  resurrection  (27:62,  6^)\  and  the 
official  watch  testify  to  the  futility  of  all  their  efforts  to 
detain  Christ  in  the  tomb  (28:11,  14).  Compare  this 
with  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  note  there  the  absence  of 
all  external  testimony,  whether  from  man  or  nature,  and 
the  presence  of  that  only  which  inheres  in  Christ. 

IV.  One  of  the  main  objects  of  this  Gospel  is,  to 
show  that  the  great  facts  of  the  Christian  age  have  not 
thwarted  the  Divine  purposes,  nor  compelled  the  adop- 
tion of  principles  previously  unknown.     God's  dealings 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        zi 

with  the  called  are  throughout  consistent  and  coherent. 
Christianity  is  ideal  as  well  as  historic  and  actual.  In 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  the  law  and  the  prophets  are 
fulfilled.  The  uniformity  of  God's  work  in  the  past,  the 
present,  and  the  future,  is  shown  throughout  the  Gospel. 
The  genealogy  of  our  Lord  contains  the  names  of  four 
Gentile  women,  three  of  them  stained  by  heinous  crime, 
who  by  faith  and  grace  obtained  a  place  in  the  royal 
line,  and  whose  blood  flowed  in  the  veins  of  all  the 
Jewish  kings  (1:3,  5,  6).  In  the  first  chapter  of  this 
Gospel,  the  fact  is  thus  set  forth,  that  God  interwove  the 
two  great  principles  of  the  New  Dispensation — grace  and 
faith — into  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  the  Abrahamic 
people.  By  these,  strangers  and  foreigners  sought  and 
secured  a  place  in  the  household.  In  the  second  chap- 
ter, the  Magi,  the  Gentiles,  recognize  and  honor  Christ 
(2:11),  while  the  rulers  and  theocratic  guides  of  the 
nation  pass  him  by  in  contempt.  A  refuge  is  provided 
in  Egypt  from  Jewish  malevolence  (2:14,  15).  It  is  a 
Roman  centurion  whose  faith  was  such  as  he'  had  not 
found  in  Israel  (8  :  10).  It  is  one  of  the  accursed  race 
of  the  Canaanites  who  draws  from  our  Lord  the  exclama- 
tion :  "O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith"  (15:28).  It  is 
the  mixed  multitudes  fed  by  Christ — the  four  thousand — 
who  glorify  the  God  of  Israel  (15  :3i).*  It  is  Pilate's 
Gentile  wife  who  sends  the  warning:  "Have  thou  noth- 
ing to  do  with  that  just  man"  (27:14);  and  the  only 
recognition  of  Christ's  innocence  by  those  who  stand 

*  The  Gentile  character  of  this  multitude  will  be  apparent  on  a  study 
of  the  words  of  the  Evangelist. 


34         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

around  the  cross  in  this  Gospel,  is  on  the  part  of  the 
Roman  guards  (27:54). 

The  coherence  of  the  work  of  redemption  and  its 
vital  connection  with  the  past  may  be  seen  also  in  the 
fact  that  in  this  Gospel  we  have  no  beginnings  of  spir- 
itual life.  All  the  disciples  are  believers  at  their  first 
appearance  in  the  narrative.  The  Gentiles — the  Magi 
and  the  Syrophoenician  woman — present  a  developed 
faith  of  marvellous  strength  and  persistence.  There  are 
no  awakenings  from  the  dead,  like  that  of  the  penitent 
thief  in  Luke  (23:40),  or  of  the  Samaritan  woman  in 
John  (4: 1-28).  The  same  principle  governs  in  miracu- 
lous restoration  to  life.  In  Matthew  the  miracle  of  this 
class  is  that  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  who  is  at  the  point 
of  death  when  the  stricken  father  goes  in  search  of  the 
Saviour  (9  :  18).  In  Luke,  in  addition  to  this  miracle, 
the  son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  is  restored  to  his  mother 
(7:  11-15) ;  but  in  this  case  the  dead  man  is  being  car- 
ried to  the  grave,  while  in  John,  who  begins  his  Gospel 
where  Matthew  ends,  with  the  recognized  rejection  of 
Christ,  Lazarus  is  raised  from  the  tomb  in  which  he  has 
lain  so  long  that  decay  is  doing  its  work.  (John  1 1 : 1-43.) 
For  the  same  reason  there  are  no  miracles  of  healing  in 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  unless  they  are  sought  or  ex- 
pected by  the  recipient  or  his  friends,  no  unanticipated 
miracles  springing  from  Christ's  unprompted  mercy.  In 
Luke  are  many  such,  in  John,  with  perhaps  one  excep- 
tion, they  are  all  such.  But  Matthew  records  no  miracle 
of  spontaneity  like  the  healing  of  the  ear  of  Malchus, 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        35 

(Luke  22  :  51)  ;  none  like  the  cure  of  the  man  at  the  pool 
of  Bethesda.     (John  5  : 9).* 

*  Those  who  impugn  the  credibility  or  information  of  the  Evange- 
lists, because  they  omit  important  events  or  incidental  details,  will  find 
on  examination,  that  the  omission  arises  from  the  fact  that  each  historian 
narrates  only  the  incidents  belonging  to  that  aspect  of  the  history  of  redemp- 
tion which  it  is  the  design  of  his  Gospel  to  present.  The  second  miracle 
recorded  by  Matthew  (8 ;  5,  13)  may  illustrate  this  remark.  Luke  (7  :  i-io) 
tells  us  that  the  centurion  sent  elders  of  the  Jews  to  intercede  on  his  be- 
half. Of  this  Matthew  makes  no  mention,  but  adds  the  words  of  our 
Lord  which  Luke  omits :  "  The  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  into 
outer  darkness."  Alford,  to  whom  be  all  honor  for  his  fairness  and  can- 
dor, says  in  his  comment  on  this  passage,  "  Here  Matthew  simply  states 
the  fact  of  the  healing,  not  knowing  of  those  that  were  sent."  Why  is 
this  a  necessary  inference  "i  And  why  is  it  not  equally  clear  that  Luke 
did  not  know  what  Christ  said?  Each  Evangelist  relates  what  belongs 
to  his  Gospel.  Matthew  is  the  historian  of  the  nation's  rejection  of  the 
Messiah.  In  the  case  of  the  centurion  he  simply  adheres  to  a  principle 
which  leads  him  to  pass  over  the  appreciative  answer  of  the  scribe  not 
far  from  the  kingdom  of  God  (Mark  12:32-34);  the  commendation  of 
Christ  by  the  scribes  as  he  silenced  for  ever  his  questioners — a  com- 
mendation very  remarkable  in  its  place  and  time  (Luke  20:39);  the 
tribute  of  that  ruler  in  Jerusalem  to  whom  Christ  in  response  so  wonder- 
fully revealed  the  heavenly  truths  that  constitute  the  very  marrow  of  the 
Gospel.  (John  3:1-21.)  Luke,  whose  history  is  not  one  of  official  hos- 
tility, but  of  individual  acceptance,  docs  not  here  record  the  prophesied 
rejection  of  the  children  of  the  kingdom. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  mention  another  passage  which  Westcott  says  is 
attended  with  serious  difficulty.  (Luke  9 :  57  compared  with  Matt.  8 :  18-22.) 
The  object  of  Luke  in  this  short  section  is  to  give  the  requisites  for 
discipleship;  of  Matthew  to  show  the  character  of  the  nation.  Hence  he 
omits  all  reference  to  the  third  statement  in  Luke,  "No  man  having  put 
his  hand  to  the  plough  and  looking  back  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God," 
In  the  later  Gospel  the  passage  is  found  near  the  close  of  our  Lord's 
life ;  in  Matthew  near  the  commencement,  one  of  the  many  intimations 
that  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  work,  Christ  anticipated  his  death,  and 
recognized  the  character  and  doom  of  the  Jewish  people.  They  would 
pursue  him  to  the  cross,  and  the  dead  nation  would  be  abandoned  to  its 
fate.  The  interpretation  that  makes  "The  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where 
to  lay  his  head"  a  declaration  of  poverty  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the 
facts  of  the  Gospels.     The  meaning  is  far  deeper. 

4 


36         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

Thus  does  this  Gospel,  which  has  in  its  first  sentence 
the  call  of  Abraham,  and  in  its  last  the  end  of  the  age, 
grasp  the  whole  covenant  period  and  set  forth  the  con- 
tinuity of  God's  dealings,  and  the  accomplishment  of  his 
designs.  The  phrases  "  that  it  might  be  fulfilled,"  and 
"  to  the  end  of  the  age,"  are  among  its  prominent  and 
constantly  recurring  peculiarities.  The  references  to 
the  Old  Testament,  and  the  verbal  citations  from  it  in 
Matthew,  far  exceed  in  number  those  found  in  any  other 
Evangelist ;  but,  with  a  single  exception,  they  are  not 
such  as  would  be  employed  to  prove  to  an  unbeliever,  by 
the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus. 
Many  commentators  deny  that  in  the  great  majority  of 
these  predictions  there  is  any  direct  reference  to  the 
Messiah.  They  are  addressed  to  believers  in  Christ ; 
they  vindicate  by  reference  to  Old  Testament  facts  and 
principles,  his  lowly  condition,  his  apparent  powerless- 
ness,  his  reception  by  inferior  and  despised  classes.  The 
one  exception  is  the  prophecy  of  Micah  cited  by  the 
Sanhedrim  in  answer  to  Herod's  inquiry  as  to  the  birth- 
place of  Christ.  This  is  given  by  Matthew,  not  to  prove 
the  Messiahship,  but  to  condemn  the  Sanhedrim  out  of 
their  own  mouth  (2  : 4-6);  they  pointed  the  Gentiles  to  a 
Christ  whom  they  themselves  neglected,  and  threw  the 
clear  light  of  Scripture  on  the  path  in  which  they  refused 
to  walk.  The  uniform  character  of  the  other  quotations 
will  be  obvious  as  you  recall  them  :  "  Out  of  Egypt  have  I 
called  my  Son  "(2:15):  "  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene  " 
(2:23):  "The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great 
light,  and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW.        37 

death,  light  is  sprung  up"  (4:16):  "He  shall  not  strive 
nor  cry,  neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets  : 
A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,*  and  smoking  flax 
shall  he  not  quench,  till  he  send  forth  judgment  unto 
victory"  (12  :  19,  20)  :  "  For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed 
gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes 
they  have  closed  ;  lest  at  any  time  they  should  see  with 
their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  should  under- 
stand with  their  heart,  and  should  be  converted,  and  I 
should  heal  them"  (13:15):  "I  will  open  my  mouth  in 
parables  ;  I  will  utter  things  which  have  been  kept  secret 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  "  (13  :  35)  :  "  Tell  ye  the 
daughter  of  Sion,  Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 
meek,  and  sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an 
ass  "(21:5):  "  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings 
thou  hast  perfected  praise"  (21  :  16)  :  "The  stone  which 
the  builders  rejected,  the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the 
corner"  (21  \^2). 

God's  word  does  not  return  unto  him  void.  His 
promises  have  a  far  wider,  better,  more  glorious  fulfil- 
ment than  ever  man  imagined.  The  first  book  of  the 
Old  Testament  records  the  calling  out  of  a  nation  from 
which  the  Messiah  should  come ;  this  first  book  of  the 
New  Testament  records  the  calling  out  of  a  nation  in 
which  the  Messiah  shall  dwell.  The  tabernacle  and  tem- 
ple are  destroyed,  but  the  Divine  Presence  which  they 
promised,  and  represented  in  shadow,  is  here  in  blessed 

*  A  bruised  reed  is  not  an  emblem  of  a  penitent  and  heart-broken 
sinner,  but  of  an  enemy  of  God.  (2  Kings  18 :  21.)  Christ  did  not  retreat 
from  his  enemies  for  fear  of  them — they  were  weakness  itself — but  in  pur- 
suance of  his  plans  for  the  world. 


38         GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW. 

reality :  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  unto  the  end  of  the  age. 
On  the  Galilean  mountain  are  uttered  the  words  of 
which  the  voice  out  of  heaven  which  John  heard  in  the 
isle  of  Patmos  (Rev.  21  13)  is  only  the  echo  :  "  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  will  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall 
be  with  them  and  be  their  God."  There  is  in  our  Gospel 
no  account  of  the  ascension — that  belongs  to  another 
point  of  view.  Here  the  final  and  abiding  thought,  as 
the  church  commences  her  world-wide  mission,  is  the 
fulfilment  of  the  Old  Testament  promise,  the  name  with 
which  this  Gospel  begins  and  ends — Jesus,  Emmanuel, 
God  with  us. 


THE  GOSPEL 


ACCORDING  TO  MARK 


BY  REV.  L,  D.  SEVAN,  D.  D., 

NEW  YORK. 


4* 


THE 

QOSPEL  ACCOR^DINQ  TO  MAF^K, 


The  first  question  that  presents  itself  in  a  discussion 
of  the  second  gospel  concerns  its  authorship.  It  is  called 
the  gospel  according  to  St.  Mark,  and  the  universal  doc- 
trine of  the  Christian  church  ascribes  it  to  the  hand  of 
that  evangelist. 

The  gospel  itself  contains  no  statement  as  to  its  au- 
thor. Like  the  other  memoirs  of  our  Lord,  it  is  anony- 
mous ;  but  the  tradition  of  the  ancient  church  is,  without 
exception,  to  the  effect  that  it  bears  the  name  of  its  wri- 
ter. With  him  has  been  associated  the  apostle  Peter, 
whose  amanuensis  Mark  was  said  to  have  been.  It  was 
apparently  thought  by  the  earlier  writers  of  the  church 
that  Peter  dictated  the  gospel  to  Mark,  but  this  has  not 
been  the  accepted  view  of  modern  critics. 

The  first  statement  in  the  church  in  respect  to  the 
authorship  of  the  second  gospel  is  that  of  Papias,  whose 
words  are  quoted  by  Eusebius  in  his  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory (III.,  39).  Papias  was  bishop  of  Hieropolis  some- 
where during  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  and 
although  he  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  small  judg- 


4  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

ment,  easily  led  into  wild,  wayward  fancies,  his  testimony 
as  to  a  matter  of  fact,  in  relation  to  an  opinion  prevalent 
at  the  time  concerning  a  work  then  extant,  and  its  alleged 
author,  would  not  be  at  all  affected  by  the  weakness  of 
his  judgment  or  the  trifling  character  of  his  views.  He 
says,  as  quoted  by  Eusebius,  that  "  Mark,  being  Peter  s 
interpreter,  wrote  carefully  what  things  he  (Peter)  narra- 
ted, though  he  recorded  not  in  order,  as  it  was  spoken  or 
done  by  the  Lord,  for  he  neither  heard  nor  followed  our 
Lord,  but,  as  before  said,  he  was  the  companion  of  Peter, 
who  arranged  his  instructions  as  was  necessary,  but  did 
not  give  a  history  of  our  Lord's  discourses.  Wherefore 
Mark  has  not  erred  in  any  way  by  writing  some  things 
as  he  remembered  them  ;  for  he  was  careful  of  one  thing, 
not  to  omit  anything  of  what  he  had  heard,  or  to  falsify 
anything  in  these  accounts." 

Now  we  may  not  set  any  great  store  by  these  opin- 
ions of  Papias  as  to  the  form  in  which  Mark  composed 
the  gospel,  but  beyond  a  doubt  the  following  facts  are 
established  :  that  in  the  time  of  this  minister  at  Hierapo- 
lis  there  was  extant  some  work  upon  the  life  of  Jesus ; 
that  it  was  said  to  be  written  by  Mark;  and  that  the  view 
which  the  church  accepted  was,  that  in  the  composition 
of  it,  Mark  was  intimately  associated  with  the  apostle 
Peter. 

A  second  early  reference  to  the  authorship  of  Mark 
is  that  of  Irenseus,  also  quoted  by  Eusebius  in  his  History 
(V.,  8) :  "  Mark,  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter,  has 
himself  also  handed  down  to  us  in  writing  what  was  an- 
nounced by  Peter." 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK,  5 

The  historian  (II.,  15),  on  the  authority  of  Clement 
(Hypotyposes  VI.),  declares  that  many  of  those  who  lis- 
tened to  the  preaching  of  Peter  in  Rome  requested  Mark, 
who  had  followed  the  apostle  for  some  time,  to  write  out 
what  Peter  had  spoken.  Peter,  hearing  of  this,  was 
pleased  at  the  interest  shown  by  his  hearers,  and  author- 
ized the  work  to  be  read  in  the  churches.  We  may  ob- 
serve here  that  this  is  inconsistent  with  a  statement  which 
Eusebius  adds  to  the  second  reference  which  we  have 
quoted,  to  the  effect  that  Mark's  writing  was  after  the 
decease  of  Peter  and  Paul. 

In  another  passage  Eusebius  (Hist.  Eccl,,  VI.,  14) 
cites  the  already  quoted  words  of  Clement,  but  adds  to 
the  account,  that  Peter,  knowing  of  Mark's  work  when 
completed  and  given  to  the  public,  "  encouragingly  nei- 
ther hindered  nor  advanced  it;"  which  may  be  under- 
stood to  mean,  that  while  he  gave  the  gospel  a  general 
approval,  he  took  no  active  part  in  either  correction  or 
addition  to  its  contents.  Without  further  quotation,  we 
may  just  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Tertullian  and 
Jerome  also  refer  to  Mark's  gospel  as  receiving  the  con- 
firmation of  Peter,  as  indeed  he  was  only  an  interpreter 
and  amanuensis  of  the  apostle's  declaration  concerning 
Jesus  Christ.  (Tertull.  contra  Marcion,  IV.,  5  ;  Jerome, 
ad  Helvidium,  Quest.  XI.) 

Added  to  these  evidences  from  early  Christian  writers 
of  the  genuineness  of  Mark's  gospel,  we  may  mention 
Justin  Martyr  and  Tatian  as  proving  the  existence,  in 
the  second  century  of  the  church,  of  a  gospel  such  as  the 
second  in  our  canon,  which  was  held  to  be  the  work  of 


6  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

the  evangelist  Mark.  Some  modern  critics  have  ques- 
tioned the  evidence  upon  which  the  authorship  of  Mark 
has  been  accepted,  but  the  grounds  of  doubt  are  certainly 
not  as  valid  as  the  reasons  for  belief,  and  in  one  case  at 
least  a  leading  antagonist  of  the  authorship  of  Mark 
(Credner)  has  seen  reasons  for  changing  his  views. 

Some  of  the  internal  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
authorship  of  Mark  is  well  founded  may  be  noticed  be- 
low. 

There  is  no  reason,  then,  why  we  should  not  accept 
the  tradition  of  the  church  that  Mark  was  the  author  of 
the  gospel,  and  we  therefore  now  inquire.  Who  was  this 
Mark  }  and.  What  do  we  know  concerning  him  ? 

Simply  to  attach  the  gospel  to  some  person  of  the 
name  of  Mark  would  have  been  a  dry  and  sterile  fact  in 
the  history  of  the  New  Testament.  And  we  are  fortu- 
nately not  left  to  a  mere  statement  so  isolated  and  uninter- 
esting. Mark  is  said  to  have  been  the  person  mentioned 
in  Acts  12  :  12,  25.  The  former  passage  relates  that 
Peter,  after  his  liberation  from  prison,  found  his  way  "  to 
the  house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  John  whose  surname 
was  Mark  ;"  and  in  the  other  passage,  occurring  in  the 
same  chapter,  and  without  any  change  of  expression,  so 
that  we  are  justified  in  referring  it  to  the  same  person, 
we  are  told  that  "  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  from  Jeru- 
salem when  they  had  fulfilled  their  ministry,  and  took 
with  them  John  whose  surname  was  Mark."  In  the  fol- 
lowing chapter  the  course  of  the  two  apostles  is  marked 
out,  upon  the  first  missionary  journey,  on  which  they  were 
sent  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  the  fifth  verse  it  is  reia- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  7 

ted  that  they  had  "  also  John  to  their  minister."  Clearly 
this  is  the  same  person  who  in  the  preceding  chapter  is 
said  to  have  possessed  the  surname  Mark.  In  the  thir- 
teenth verse  we  learn  that  John  at  Perga  left  them  and 
returned  from  his  ministry  to  Jerusalem.  In  the  well- 
known  passage,  15  :  37-39,  Paul  refuses  to  take  with  him 
upon  the  second  journey  "John  who  was  surnamed  Mark," 
because  he  had  departed  from  them  in  Pamphylia ;  and 
the  discussion  between  the  apostles  became  sufficiently 
severe  to  cause  a  separation  between  them,  Barnabas 
taking  Mark,  and  Paul  choosing  Silas,  apparently  receiv- 
ing the  sanction  of  the  brethren  in  his  new  determina- 
tion. Mark  does  not  appear  to  be  again  mentioned  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  but  some  references  to  him 
occurring  in  the  Epistles  must  not  be  overlooked.  In 
Col.  4:  10,  Paul  mentions  him  with  accompanying  words 
of  commendation:  "Aristarchus  my  fellow-prisoner  sa- 
luteth  you,  and  Marcus,  sister's  son  to  Barnabas  (touch- 
ing whom  ye  received  commandments :  if  he  come  unto 
you  receive  him) ;"  and  the  writer  adds,  "  These  only  are 
my  fellow-workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  have 
been  a  comfort  unto  me."  In  2  Tim.  4:11,  Paul  again 
speaks  of  Mark  in  kindly  terms.  "  Take  Mark,"  he  says, 
"  and  bring  him  with  thee,  for  he  is  profitable  to  me  for 
the  ministry  ;"  and  in  the  closing  words  of  the  letter  to 
Philemon  Mark  is  numbered  by  Paul  among  his  fellow- 
prisoners.  In  the  first  Epistle  of  Peter,  5  :i3,  Mark  is 
mentioned  as  "  my  son,"  apparently  referring  to  the  proba- 
ble fact  that  he  owed  his  Christian  faith  to  the  teaching 
of  the  writer.     These  are  the  only  passages  of  Scripture 


8  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

where  the  name  occurs.  Three  in  which  a  supposed 
reference  is  made  to  him  will  be  noticed  by  us  in  the 
short  sketch  of  a  life  of  Mark  which  we  now  would  pre- 
sent, gathered  from  these  Scriptural  references  and  such 
remains  of  tradition  as  may  seem  not  worthy  of  rejec- 
tion. 

The  original  name  of  the  evangelist  was  most  proba- 
bly John,  Mark  being  a  Roman  name  which  he  adopted 
at  some  time  in  his  life,  in  accordance  with  that  custom 
of  which  we  have  an  illustration  in  the  name  which  the 
Jewish  Saul  adopted,  and  by  which  he  has  been  altogeth- 
er known.  That  this  may  have  arisen  from  some  con- 
nection with  a  Roman  family  of  that  name  has  been  sug- 
gested by  his  familiarity  with  Latin,  which  has  been 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  became  the  interpreter  of 
Peter.  His  father  may  have  been  a  proselyte  of  Rome, 
although  reference  is  made  only  to  his  mother,  who  was 
Barnabas'  sister.  The  later  tradition  of  the  church  has 
sometimes  separated  between  the  two  names,  and  in 
this  way  converted  what  was  probably  one  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ  into  two  or  three  saints  of  the  ecclesiastical 
calendar.  Some  modern  critics  have  endeavored  to  es- 
tablish the  separateness  between  the  companion  of  Paul 
and  the  "  son "  of  Peter ;  but  this  is  rather  to  be  set 
down  to  one  of  those  skilful  acrobatisms  of  New  Testa.- 
#/6  ment  criticism  which  absorbs  all  our  attention  to  the 
skill  of  the  act,  so  that  we  forget  the  absolute  nothing- 
ness of  the  result.  Mark  was  evidently  of  a  somewhat 
excitable  and  mobile  disposition,  and  that  he  who  once 
accompanied  Peter  should  have  also  been  the  companion 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  9 

of  Paul  is  not  such  an  extraordinary  circumstance  as  to 
warrant  the  necessity  of  finding  different  individuals  to 
sujDply  the  respective  places. 

Mark  was  the  son  of  Mary  the  sister  of  Barnabas,  and 
evidently  belonged  to  a  family  of  deep  emotional  charac- 
teristics, and  whose  worldly  position  enabled  them  to  ren- 
der considerable  service  to  the  early  church.  Barnabas 
was  a  man  of  property,  belonging  to  Cyprus,  and  his  sister 
seems  to  have  lived  in  such  state  at  Jerusalem  that  she 
could  entertain  a  considerable  number  of  the  church  at  an 
assembly  for  prayer  (Acts  12  :  12),  testifying  not  only  to 
the  extent  of  her  property,  but  also  to  the  boldness  and 
confidence  of  her  faith.  James,  the  brother  of  John,  had 
been  killed  by  Herod.  Peter  was  in  prison,  and  the 
church  felt  that  nothing  was  left  to  it  but  to  implore  the 
help  of  God.  One  at  least  of  their  number,  a  woman,  is 
brave  enough  to  throw  open  her  house  and  invite  the 
community  there  to  seek  the  Divine  aid.  It  was  no  pri- 
vate meeting.  It  apparently  was  a  recognized  centre  of 
Christian  hospitality  and  influence.  Thither  went  Peter 
straightway,  needing  no  angel  to  guide  him  to  a  place 
which  was  well  known  to  the  apostle  as  a  place  of  Chris- 
tian resort.  It  was  the  house  of  Mary,  Barnabas'  sister, 
the  mother  of  Mark. 

It  is  not  very  difficult  to  picture  to  ourselves  the 
young  man  who  was  the  son  of  this  Mary,  the  nephew  of 
the  son  of  consolation.  Noble-hearted,  frank,  and  gen- 
erous, we  may  well  suppose  him,  sometimes,  too  much 
swayed  by  impulse,  quick  to  go  forth  upon  the  great 
errands  of  the  cross,  too  easily,  however,  impelled  to  lay 

5 


lo  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK, 

down  his  arms  and  retire  from  the  conflict.  His  uncle  is 
a  fervent  man,  feeling  the  enthusiasm  of  the  hour,  and 
ready  to  consecrate  his  property  for  the  common  service 
of  the  church,  in  that  mistaken,  though  generous,  com- 
munity of  goods,  which  marked  the  early  history  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical brotherhood  at  Jerusalem.  With  a  mother  of 
similar  spirit,  we  may  well  picture  to  ourselves  the  warm, 
impulsive  temperament  of  the  young  John  Mark.  This 
consideration  lends  some  probability,  or  perhaps  possi- 
bility, to  the  supposition  that  Mark  was  the  young  man 
to  whom  he  alone  of  the  evangelists  refers  (14 :  5 1),  who 
when  all  the  disciples  forsook  their  Master  and  fled,  "fol- 
lowed him/'  "  having  a  linen  coat  cast  about  his  naked 
body ;  and  the  young  men  laid  hold  on  him,  and  he  left 
the  linen  cloth  and  fled  from  them  naked." 

It  has  been  supposed  that  Mary,  being  a  wealthy  pro- 
prietress, may  have  possessed  a  residence  at  the  foot  of 
Olivet,  just  outside  the  city.  It  may  have  been  her  gar- 
den into  which  Christ  entered  for  prayer  and  retirement — 
Gethsemane,  earth's  solemn  scene  of  agony  and  tears 
and  blood.  Did  the  youth  know  it  t  It  would  be  very 
natural.  Were  his  slumbers  broken  by  the  company  that 
entered  the  garden,  with  torches  and  riot,  to  seize  the 
Lord  .?  Would  it  be  strange  that  this  lad,  impetuous  and 
heart-driven,  should  rise  from  his  bed,  throw  around  him 
hastily  a  linen  sheet,  and  go  forth  among  the  crowd  t 
He  sees  the  Lord  a  prisoner,  abandoned.  He  rushes 
forward  to  rescue,  grasps  Him  to  free  Him  from  His 
guards.  A  soldier  advances,  seizes  the  youth,  whose 
courage  vanishes  as  suddenly  as  it  arose.     The  young 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK,  n 

man  flies,  and  leaves  behind  his  garment,  amid  the  rude 
laughter  and  mocking  taunt  of  the  guard.  It  is  a  picture 
which  imagination  draws,  but  it  is  not  impossible,  and  is 
not  inconsistent  with  what  we  know  of  the  evangelist, 
who  alone  narrates  the  event  in  his  graphic  story. 

Peter  was  probably  the  first  Christian  teacher  of  this 
youth,  and  if  the  expression,  "My  son,"  is  thus  to  be  in- 
terpreted, it  is  significant  that  this  disciple  of  the  first 
apostle  should  not  have  been  unwilling  to  join  Paul  and 
Barnabas  in  their  evangelistic  tour.  His  relations  to  Peter 
also  may  have  led  Mark  more  easily  to  separate  himself 
from  Paul,  who  as  yet  was  too  generous  and  liberal  for 
him,  in  his  interpretation  of  the  Lord's  command  to  "> 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  nation. 

We  do  not  know  the  exact  merits  of  the  dispute  be- 
tween Paul  and  Barnabas,  when  it  was  proposed  by  the 
latter  to  take  Mark  with  them,  which  was  so  strenuously 
opposed  by  his  friend  and  companion.  Paul's  relations 
to  Barnabas  were  very  intimate.  Apparently  old  friends, 
Barnabas  had  been  the  first  to  extend  to  Paul  the  friendly 
assurances  of  the  Jerusalem  church,  and  even  united  the 
i)ew  convert  with  himself  in  his  labors  at  Antioch.  Their 
fellowship  in  the  gospel  was  therefore  most  close ;  but, 
notwithstanding  this,  Paul,  who  was  by  no  means  an  un- 
generous or  forgetful  man,  was  willing  to  sacrifice  his 
fellow-apostle's  companionship  rather  than  pass  over  the 
delinquency  of  Mark.  We  cannot  think  that  it  was  any 
personal  feeling  which  led  Paul  to  so  severe  a  step  ;  but 
if,  as  we  have  suggested,  Mark  had  gained  any  narrow 
sentiments  from  his  relation  to  Peter  in  regard  to  the 


12  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

scope  and  mode  of  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  we  may 
well  understand  how  Paul  would  refuse,  even  at  the  cost 
of  personal  friendship,  to  allow  anything  to  hinder  that 
work  to  which  he  had  given  himself  with  peculiar  conse- 
cration. Barnabas,  on  the  other  hand,  was  tender-heart- 
ed, a  true  son  of  consolation.  Moreover,  it  was  his 
nephew^  the  son  of  Mary,  that  sister  who  may  well  be 
ranked  among  the  other  famous  women  of  the  gospel ; 
and  he  yields  to  the  claims  of  kinship  and  tenderness  of 
heart,  what  Paul  would  not  sacrifice — the  interests  of  the 
church,  and  the  unhindered  progress  of  the  gospel  among 
the  Gentiles. 

But  a  later  period  of  the  history  shows  us  that  Mark 
became  reinstated  in  the  good  opinion  of  the  great  apos- 
tle, and,  as  we  have  seen,  was  found  by  him  of  much 
service  and  fidelity  in  the  gospel.  Indeed,  Paul  seems  to 
reiterate  his  assurances  of  confidence  in  his  old  friend's 
nephew.  The  story  of  their  estrangement  had  got  abroad. 
The  church  knew  it,  and  Mark  had  lost  caste  and  char- 
acter among  the  faithful,  certainly  among  those  who  were 
the  disciples  of  Paul.  But  for  these,  and  for  the  after 
ages,  for  all  time,  Paul  takes  care  that  it  shall  be  well 
known  that  the  fault  was  forgotten,  that  he  had  received 
Mark  back  again  to  confidence ;  nay,  more,  that  he  had 
made  him  a  companion,  and  found  him  most  faithful. 
Mere  harmony  will  not  be  sufficient.  Again  and  again, 
in  different  directions,  does  the  apostle  send  forth  his 
commendation  of  the  helper  Mark ;  and  the  Spirit  Who 
directed  this  record  of  His  choicest  workings  has  left  it 
for  us,  as  an  example  of  the  way  in  which  the  erring  are 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  13 

to  be  treated,  and  Christian  charity  and  forgiveness  and 
brotherliness  to  be  rendered  triumphant  in  all  our  rela- 
tions (^  life. 

The  letters  in  which  Paul  refers  to  the  presence  of 
Mark  with  him  were  written  from  Rome  at  the  time  of  the 
apostle's  first  imprisonment  (62  a.  d.).  Afterwards  he 
is  found  with  Peter  at  Babylon,  and  it  has  been  thought 
that  the  evangelist  passed  from  the  one  apostle  to  the 
other  as  their  means  of  communication,  at  a  time  of  pe- 
culiar peril  to  the  Christian  church,  fraught  with  the  out- 
working of  those  forces  which  were  soon  to  overthrow 
Judaism  in  its  seat  and  centre  at  Jerusalem. 

In  the  later  epistle  of  Paul,  Timothy  is  commanded 
to  bring  Mark  with  him,  and  if,  in  accordance  with  this 
request,  the  evangelist  accompanied  Timothy,  or  at  a 
later  time  came  with  Peter,  either  of  which  suppositions 
is  possible,  this  fact  would  supply  a  basis  for  the  opinion 
held  so  widely  in  the  early  church,  that  Mark  was  with 
Peter  in  Rome,  and  there  discharged  the  duties  of  an 
interpreter.  All  these  points,  however,  are  mere  sur- 
mises, and  need  only  to  be  mentioned  to  complete  what 
is  possible  for  us  of  the  life  of  Mark. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  observe  how  the  tra- 
dition of  the  church  has  completed  the  life  of  the  evan- 
gelist. It  is  said  that,  after  the  death  of  Peter  and  Paul, 
he  went  to  Egypt,  and  preached  in  Lybia  and  Thebais 
for  twelve  years.  He  founded  the  church  of  Alexan- 
dria, and  became  its  first  bishop.  His  miracles  roused 
the  anger  of  the  heathen.  They  declared  that  he  was  a 
magician,  and  during  a  feast  of  Serapis  an  attack  was 

5* 


14  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

made  upon  the  bishop  of  the  Christian  church  while  he 
was  worshipping.  He  was  fastened  by  cords,  dragged 
along  the  road,  especially  over  stony  places,  till  he  died, 
while  a  terrible  tempest  of  lightning  and  hail  scattered 
and  destroyed  his  murderous  assailants.  The  body  of 
the  martyred  evangelist  was  buried  by  the  church,  and 
his  tomb  became  an  object  of  peculiar  veneration  until 
the  year  815,  when  some  traders  from  Venice  stole  the 
relics  and  conveyed  them  over  the  sea  to  their  native 
city,  where  the  noble  cathedral  which  bears  his  name 
was  erected  above  the  spot,  in  which  they  were  deposited. 
I  need  scarcely  add  that  Mark  then  became  the  guardian 
saint  of  the  great  republic,  as  the  winged  lion  by  which 
he  is  symbolized  in  sacred  art  evidences,  from  the  stately 
pillar  upon  which  it  stands  in  front  of  the  Doge's  palace 
on  the  Piazzetta. 

Some  of  the  legends  connected  with  the  history  of 
St.  Mark  are  quaint  and  interesting.  That  of  the  heal- 
ing of  Arianus,  the  cobbler,  who  had  wounded  his  hand 
with  the  awl,  and  was  afterwards  converted  and  succeed- 
ed Mark  as  bishop  of  Alexandria;  and  the  delivery  from 
torture  at  the  hands  of  his  master  of  the  Christian  slave 
by  the  descent  from  heaven  of  the  saint  at  whose  shrine 
the  slave  was  praying,  are  legendary  stories  told  in  honor 
of  our  evangelist ;  while  the  story  of  the  fisherman,  which 
I  will  venture  to  extract  at  length  from  the  version  of 
the  Venetian  chronicle  given  by  Mrs.  Jamieson  in  her 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  has  furnished  material  for 
some  of  the  grandest  achievements  of  the  artist's  skill : 

"  On  the  25th  of  February,  1340,  there  fell  out  a  won- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  15 

derful  thing  in  this  land,  for  during  three  days  the  waters 
rose  continually,  and  in  the  night  there  was  fearful  rain 
and  tempest,  such  as  had  never  been  heard  of.  So  great 
was  the  storm  that  the  waters  rose  three  cubits  higher 
than  had  ever  been  known  in  Venice ;  and  an  old  fisher- 
man, being  in  his  little  boat  on  the  canal  of  St.  Mark, 
reached  with  difficulty  the  Riva  di  San  Marco,  and  there 
he  fastened  his  boat  and  waited  the  ceasing  of  the  storm. 
And  it  is  related,  that  at  the  time  this  storm  was  at  the 
highest,  there  came  an  unknown  man  and  besought  him 
that  he  would  row  him  over  to  San  Giorgio  Maggiore, 
promising  to  pay  him  well.  And  the  fisherman  replied, 
*  How  is  it  possible  to  go  to  San  Giorgio  t  We  shall 
sink  by  the  way.'-  But  the  man  only  besought  him  the 
more  that  he  should  set  forth.  So,  seeing  that  it  was 
the  will  of  God,  he  arose  and  rowed  over  to  San  Giorgio 
Maggiore,  and  the  man  landed  there,  and  desired  the 
boatman  to  wait.  In  a  short  while  he  returned  with  a 
young  man,  and  they  said,  *  Now  row  towards  San  Nicolo 
di  Lido.'  And  the  fisherman  said,  '  How  can  one  possi- 
bly go  so  far  with  one  oar.?'  And  they  said,  *  Row  bold- 
ly, for  it  shall  be  possible  to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  well 
paid.'  And  he  went,  and  it  appeared  to  him  as  if  the 
waters  were  smooth.  Being  arrived  at  San  Nicolo  di 
Lido,  the  two  men  landed,  and  returned  with  a  third, 
and  having  entered  into  the  boat,  they  commanded  the 
fisherman  that  he  should  row  beyond  the  two  castles. 
And  the  tempest  raged  continually.  Being  come  to  the 
open  sea,  they  beheld  approaching,  with  such  terrific 
speed  that  it  appeared  to  fly  over  the  waters,  an  enormous 


i6  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

galley,  full  of  demons  (as  it  is  written  in  the  Chronicles, 
and  Marco  Sabellino  also  makes  mention  of  this  mira- 
cle) :  the  said  bark  approached  the  castles  to  overwhelm 
Venice,  and  to  destroy  it  utterly ;  anon  the  sea,  which 
had  hitherto  been  tumultuous,  became  calm  ;  and  these 
three  men,  having  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  exorcised 
the  demons,  and  commanded  them  to  depart,  and  imme- 
diately the  galley,  or  the  ship,  vanished  ;  then  these  three 
men  commanded  the  fisherman  to  land  them,  the  one  at 
San  Nicolo  di  Lido,  the  other  at  San  Giorgio  Maggiore, 
and  the  third  at  San  Marco.  And  when  he  had  landed 
the  third,  the  fisherman,  notwithstanding  the  miracle  he 
had  witnessed,  desired  that  he  would  pay  him,  and  he 
replied,  'Thou  art  right ;  go  now  to  the  doge  and  to  the 
procuratore  of  St.  Mark,  and  tell  them  what  thou  hast 
seen,  for  Venice  would  have  been  overwhelmed,  had  it 
not  been  for  us  three.  I  am  St.  Mark,  the  evangelist, 
the  protector  of  this  city ;  the  other  is  the  brave  knight 
St.  George  ;  and  he  whom  thou  didst  take  up  at  the  Lido 
is  the  holy  bishop  of  St.  Nicholas.  Say  to  the  doge  and 
to  the  procuratore  that  they  are  to  pay  you ;  and  tell 
them,  likewise,  that  this  tempest  arose  because  of  a  certain 
schoolmaster  dwelling  at  San  Felice,  who  did  sell  his  soul 
to  the  devil,  and  afterwards  hanged  himself.'  And  the 
fisherman  replied,  '  If  I  should  tell  them  this,  they  will 
not  believe  me.'  Then  St.  Mark  took  off  a  ring  which 
was  on  his  finger,  which  ring  was  worth  five  ducats ;  and 
he  said,  *  Show  them  this,  and  tell  them,  when  they  look 
in  the  sanctuary,  they  will  not  find  it;'  and  thereupon  he 
disappeared.     The  next  morning  the  said  fisherman  pre- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  17 

sented  himself  before  the  doge,  and  related  all  he  had 
seen  the  night  before,  and  showed  him  the  ring  for  a 
sign.  And  the  procuratore  having  sent  for  the  ring, 
and  sought  in  the  usual  place,  found  it  not ;  by  reason  of 
which  miracle  the  fisherman  was  paid,  and  a  solemn  pro- 
cession was  ordained,  giving  thanks  to  God  and  to  the 
relics  of  the  three  holy  saints  who  rest  in  our  land,  and 
who  delivered  us  from  this  great  danger.  The  ring  was 
given  to  Signor  Marco  Loredano  and  to  Signor  Andrea 
Dandolo,  the  procuratore,  who  placed  it  in  the  sanctuary ; 
and,  moreover,  a  perpetual  provision  was  made  for  the 
aged  fisherman  above-mentioned." 

This  story,  by  no  means  to  be  classed  among  the 
most  absurd  of  ecclesiastical  legends,  we  give  thus  at 
length,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  see  the  deep  gulf 
which  divides  the  narratives  of  miracles  contained  in  the- 
Scripture  from  those  which  have  been  multiplied  by  the 
superstitions  of  the  church. 

We  now  turn  from  the  author  of  the  gospel  to  the 
gospel  itself,  and  inquire  concerning  its  structure  and 
most  characteristic  features.  We  shall  find  that  the  na- 
ture of  the  man  is  repeated  in  the  nature  of  the  work. 
For  while  we  ever  remember  that  the  Bible  is  the  word 
of  God,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  is  the  word  of 
God  spoken  through  men,  and  that  we  fail  to  note  one  of 
the  most  distinctive  values  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  when 
we  lose  sight  of  the  human  side.  The  Bible  has  thus 
suffered  greatly  by  being  regarded  as  only  a  divine  word. 
But  all  its  parts  bear  unmistakably  the  image  of  those 
through  whom  it  was  delivered  unto  us.     That  man  is  a 


1 8  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

poor  observer  of  the  human  race  who  cannot  see  the 
individual  traits  that  lie  upon  the  general  base  of  a 
common  humanity,  and  he  fails  utterly  to  comprehend 
the  books  of  the  Bible  who  cannot  distinguish  in  each 
the  peculiar  feature  which  its  human  authorship  has  sup- 
plied. , 
We  have,  then,  four  gospels,  lives  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  are  pictures  of  our  Lord  taken  from  different  stand- 
points. Luke  and  John  have  a  common  universalness  of 
application,  which  hardly  belongs  to  the  other  two — Mat- 
thew's and  Mark's  gospels  being  rather  concerned  with 
the  presentation  of  the  relation  which  the  life  of  Christ 
bore  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  former  viewing  the  life 
as  the  fulfilment  of  the  types  and  foreshadowings  which 
were  found  in  the  former  dispensation,  while  the  gospel 
under  special  review  presents  our  Lord  as  the  manifes- 
tation of  Deity,  in  an  independent  form,  but  specially  en- 
gaged in  antagonism  with  the  world-forces  which  opposed 
God  in  the  person  of  his  Son.  It  is  a  gospel  of  conflict 
and  victory.  The  cries  of  battle  ring  through  all  its  pas- 
sages, but  they  are  the  cries  of  battle  which  change  into 
the  shout  of  triumph,  for  it  is  the  life  of  Him  who  has 
gloriously  vanquished  his  foes,  and  ascended  up  on  high 
amid  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and  leading  captivity  cap- 
tive. This  gospel  presents  our  Lord  breaking  up  the  old 
rather  than  fulfilling  it,  and  establishing  a  new  kingdom 
of  glory  and  freedom.  Hence,  the  symbol  of  the  lion  has 
been  attached  in  the  legendary  art  of  the  church  to  the 
second  evangelist.  He  has  told  the  story  of  Judah's 
lion — majestic,  kingly,  overwhelming,  and  on  the  vivid 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  19 

page  of  his  narrative  we  see  the  strength  and  courage, 
the  all-mastering  power  of  the  Son  of  God. 

With  such  a  distinctive  purpose  and  character  we 
need  hardly  say  that  we  reject  altogether  the  theory  that 
Mark's  gospel  is  in  any  sense  an  abridgment  or  abstract 
of  the  other  gospels.  Indeed,  we  may  almost  certainly 
conclude  that  he  had  never  seen  the  writings  of  his  fel- 
low-historians. That  there  should  be  correspondencies 
is  very  natural.  In  proportion  as  they  are  truthful  nar- 
rations, that  correspondence  will  be  most  pronounced.  I 
see  no  reason  for  rejecting  the  supposition,  that  the  writ- 
ten gospels  are  more  or  less  a  repetition  of  what  was 
told  in  living  speech,  by  the  apostles  and  immediate  fol- 
lowers of  the  Lord.  That  such  repetitions  would  make 
current  a  Christian  phraseology,  and  especially  conserve 
the  form  of  our  Lord's  words  must  be  granted,  and  that 
this  would  be  distinctly  reflected  in  the  writings  of  the 
evangelists,  seems  clear  enough  ;  but  that  there  need  be 
on  this  account  any  relation  between  the  writers,  does 
not  seem  to  me  to  follow.  And  certainly,  the  supposition 
that  Mark  abridged  another  gospel  can  only  have  arisen 
in  an  age,  either  ignorant  of  the  true  character  of  the 
gospels,  or  wholly  uncritical.  Mark's  narrative  is  graphic, 
picturesque,  vivid.  It  may  omit  some  events  told  by  the 
others,  but  in  those  which  it  relates  it  is  fuller  of  detail, 
many  of  the  points  noted  by  Mark  having  escaped  the 
attention  of  the  other  synoptists. 

In  answer  to  the  opinion  that  Mark  was  an  abbre- 
viator  of  Matthew  or  Luke,  or  both,  observe  the  num- 
ber of  points  which  Mark  alone  notes.     It  is  Mark  alone 


20  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

who,  in  3  :  20,  21,  observes  that  the  crowd  was  so  great 
that  they  could  not  eat  bread,  and  that  the  friends  of 
Jesus  were  so  opposed  to  his  work,  or  at  least  in  such 
little  sympathy  with  him,  that  they  declared  him  to  be 
beside  himself.  The  simile  of  the  kingdom  of  God  to 
the  seed  planted,  which  grew  without  the  knowledge  of 
him  who  planted — a  profound  criticism  upon  the  progress 
of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ — is  told  us  only  by  Mark, 
4 :  26-30.  The  graphic  points  in  the  narrative  of  the 
healing  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  man — one  of  _the  most 
beautiful  pictures  in  the  life  of  our  Lord,  where  he  "  took 
aside  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  put  his  fingers  into  his  ears, 
and  he  spat  and  touched  his  tongue,  and  looking  up  to 
heaven,  he  sighed  and  saith  unto  him,  Ephphatha,  that 
is,  Be  opened  " — are  all  supplied  by  Mark  alone,  as  also  is 
the  touching  doxology  of  the  people,  who  cry,  "  He  hath 
done  all  things  well ;  he  maketh  both  the  deaf  to  hear  and 
the  dumb  to  speak,"  7 .  3 1--37.  In  8  :  22-26,  the  healing  of 
the  blind  man  at  Bethsaida,  whose  returning  sight  came 
only  slowly  back,  is  related  by  this  evangelist  alone. 
Mark  only,  refers  to  the  young  man  who  came  out  to  the 
crowd  of  guards  when  our  Lord  was  taken  prisoner,  as 
we  have  already  noticed.  Besides  these  passages,  pecu- 
liar to  Mark,  there  are  certain  forms  of  expression  and 
single  words  which  he  adds  to  the  narratives,  as  they 
stand  in  the  other  writers,  which  render  his  style  pecu- 
liarly individual  and  marked.  In  1:13,  Mark  adds  that, 
while  in  the  wilderness  at  the  temptation,  our  Lord  was 
among  the  wild  animals.  In  i  :  42,  Mark  intensifies  the 
speedy  healing  of  the  leper:  "As  soon  as  he  had  spoken, 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  21 

immediately  the  leprosy  departed  from  him,  and  he  was 
cleansed."  In  describing  the  demoniac  who  dwelt  among 
the  tombs  of  Gadara,  5:4,  5,  Mark  makes  the  picture 
most  graphic  :  "  The  man  had  often  been  bound  with  fet- 
ters and  chains,  and  the  chains  had  been  plucked  asun- 
der by  him,  and  the  fetters  broken  in  pieces :  neither 
could  any  man  tame  him.  And  always,  night  and  day, 
he  was  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  tombs,  crying,  and 
cutting  himself  with  stones."  Compare  this  with  Mat- 
thew's *'two  men  possessed  with  devils  coming  out  of 
the  tombs,  exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man  might  pass 
by  that  way;"  and  Luke's,  "A  certain  man  which  had 
devils  long  time,  and  wore  no  clothes,  neither  abode  in 
any  house,  but  in  the  tombs,"  and  the  notion  of  Mark's 
being  a  copyist  or  abbreviator  falls  to  the  ground — the 
baseless  fabric  of  a  wayward  fancy.  Those  who  are  in- 
terested in  this  matter  will  find  further  illustrations  in 
7:3,4;  9:21-26;  10:24,  34»49;  and  12:32,  34. 

But  there  is  no  feature  so  characteristic  of  Mark  as 
the  mode  in  which  he  commences  and  closes  his  narra- 
tive. Matthew  has  two  chapters  upon  the  genealogy, 
birth,  and  childhood  of  our  Lord.  Luke  in  a  similar 
manner  and  at  greater  length  recounts  the  circumstances 
of  the  early  life  of  Jesus.  John  introduces  his  gospel  by 
the  wonderful  revelation  of  the  preexistence  and  incarna- 
tion of  the  divine  Logos  ;  but  Mark  leaps  at  once  to  the 
story  of  Christ's  public  ministry  with  an  account  of  the 
office  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  baptism  of  Jesus. 
This  introductory  passage  may  seem  to  be  an  abridgment 
of  the  histories  in  the  other  evangelists,  but  the  movement 

6 


22  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

of  the  style  is  abrupt,  the  touches  are  graphic  and  life- 
like. None  of  the  gospels  contain  so  forcible  an  account 
of  these  and  earlier  scenes  in  the  Lord's  public  and  offi- 
cial ministry. 

We  can  only  briefly  notice  in  passing  some  other 
theories  concerning  the  relation  of  the  gospels  to  each 
other. 

The  great  German  critic  Herder  propounded  the  the- 
ory that  the  gospel  of  Mark  was  really  the  original  record, 
and  that  the  other  histories  were  derived  from  it.  But 
this  again  may  be  met,  as  was  the  already-noticed  theory, 
which  is  really  the  reverse  of  this,  by  an  appeal  to  the 
evident  independence  of  the  narratives.  The  modes  of 
presentation,  and  especially  the  order  of  narration,  are 
so  entirely  distinct,  that  even  supposing  Mark's  gospel 
were  the  primitive  work,  and  had  been  in  the  hands  of 
Matthew  and  Luke,  we  are  compelled  to  conclude  that 
they  made  no  use  of  it,  but  furnished  the  church  with 
their  own  independent  records. 

The  hypothesis  of  a  still  more  original  gospel,  from 
which  all  are  alike  derived,  is  nothing  but  a  fancy,  and 
though  it  is  quite  possible  that  such  a  gospel  may  have 
existed,  it  is  strange  that  no  record  of  it  should  be  left, 
and  not  the  vaguest  reference  to  it  can  be  found  in  all 
the  writings  of  the  ancient  church.  The  existence  of  the 
sea-serpent  is  more  certain  than  the  existence  of  this 
original  Christian  evangel.  That  wonderful  creature  has 
at  least  been  recorded  as  seen.  We  all  know  people  who 
have  heard  that  it  has  been  said  that  somebody  some- 
where saw  a  sea-serpent.     But  even  such  evidence  can- 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  23 

not  be  found  for  this  primitive  gospel.  Some  critics 
have  said  that  there  may  have  been  such  a  gospel.  Even 
they  do  not  venture  to  suggest  that  somebody  ever  hinted 
that  there  had  been  such  a  document. 

A  modification  of  the  theory  is  that  there  was  a  gen- 
eral tradition,  orally  preserved  from  apostles  and  apos- 
tolical men,  and  that  our  gospels  are  only  later  reductions 
of  this  general  apostolic  tradition  to  a  written  form.  We 
may  quite  believe  that  the  story  of  the  life  of  Jesus  was 
told  by  the  apostles  and  early  preachers  of  the  word,  as 
they  went  from  city  to  city  in  the  great  work  of  world- 
evangelization,  and  we  know  from  Luke's  testimony  that 
these  orally-delivered  histories  were  reduced  into  written 
form,  by  many  in  the  churches  ;  but  these  writings  were 
probably  only  fragmentary,  and  of  the  character  of  notes. 
The  gospels  which  we  now  possess  bear  too  markedly  the 
sign  of  the  authorship  of  eye-witnesses,  to  be  "referred  to 
any  such  process  as  the  reduction  of  oral  tradition  into  a 
written  form,  at  a  late  period  of  the  church's  history.  The 
style  of  these  writings  is  so  different  from  anything  else 
in  the  early  period  of  the  church  ;  they  are  so  simple, 
direct,  and  vivid,  that  the  generally-received  doctrine  of 
the  church  concerning  them  is  less  open  to  objection 
than  any  other  explanation  which  we  can  give  of  their 
origin,  and  is  therefore  to  be  accepted  by  us. 

At  the  same  time  we  need  not  deny  that  Mark,  for 
example,  recorded  in  his  narrative  much  of  the  testimony 
borne  by  Peter.  The  very  ancient  tradition  of  the  church 
seems  to  point  to  some  such  relation,  and  it  may  very 
well  be  allowed,  that  he  also  incorporated  something  of 


24  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

that  general  evangelical  knowledge,  which  had  very  soon 
become  a  portion  of  the  church's  possession,  and  upon 
the  proclamation  of  which  the  foundation  of  the  Chris- 
tian communities  had  first  of  all  been  laid. 

We  may  now  sum  up  the  sources  of  the  gospel  as 
found  in  apostolic  testimony,  generally  accepted  church 
teaching,  personal  knowledge,  and  these,  moulded  and 
fashioned  in  the  gospel  story  by  the  individual  character- 
istics of  the  evangelist,  and  finally,  the  Holy  Spirit's 
grace  and  power,  directing,  overruling,  and  inspiring 
all. 

If  we  take  a  general  view  of  the  gospel,  we  shall 
easily  perceive  those  characteristics  which  would  natu- 
rally be  found  in  the  work  of  Mark.  He  was  enthusias- 
tic, active,  driven  by  impulse,  little  given  probably  to 
leisurely  thought  and  contemplation.  And  this  is  the 
character  of  his  narrative.  It  rushes  everywhere  head- 
long, like  a  leaping  stream.  There  is  no  quiet  contem- 
plation, little  tendency  to  wait  and  ask  what  such  events 
mean,  what  such  words  imply.  Instead  of  this,  you  have 
picturesque  descriptions,  brief  touches  that  illumine  a 
scene  in  vivid  brightness.  Events  are  related  rather 
than  words.  There  are  no  discourses,  sermons,  conver- 
sations. The  words  of  Jesus  are  brief,  pregnant.  They 
are  generally  controversial  or  denunciatory.  They  blaze 
with  wrath  against  the  false,  the  hypocritical ;  they  ring 
with  the  tones  of  conscious  victory. 

The  narrative  of  events  is  also  characteristic.  Mark 
has  rapid  transitions,  and  abrupt  breakings  off  from  one 
event  to  another.     It  has  been  well  said  "  that  the  word 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  25 

straightway  (eiGeuf)  may  be  designated  as  the  appropriate 
watchword  of  our  gospel."  Matthew  gradually  unfolds 
each  page  in  the  record  of  His  life  who  fulfilled  the 
prophets  and  the  law.  Luke  in  a  few  general  words  in- 
troduces each  section  of  the  story  of  the  Man  of  Naza- 
reth, the  Friend  and  Brother  of  His  race.  Mark,  with  a 
"  forthwith,"  ''  straightway,"  summons  a  scene  before  us 
with  vivid  imagery  and  graphic  words.  He  constantly 
drops  the  past  tense  and  speaks  as  of  a  present  event, 
while  his  reports  are  but  little  in  the  third  person,  but 
introduced  with  the  very  words  of  the  interlocutor  in 
each  conversation.  We  must  not  forget  here  also  the 
minuteness  of  detail,  the  recollection  of  names,  and  a  cer- 
tain tenderness  and  gentleness  of  nature  which  is  seen  in 
the  constant  use  of  diminutives  and  words  of  affectionate 
significance. 

The  antagonisms  and  victories  of  the  Son  of  God  are 
told  by  Mark  in  a  series  of  glowing  sections.  Christ 
comes  forth,  the  expression  of  the  Divine  power,  and  the 
destroyer  of  the  power  of  the  devil.  His  appearance  is 
the  signal  for  popular  enthusiasms,  and  the  crowds  that 
gather  about  him  press  to  hear,  but  chiefly  to  feel  the 
force  of  that  Divine  healing,  which  puts  diseases  to 
flight,  exorcises  the  demons,  sheds  light  upon  the  blind- 
ed eye,  and  opens  the  sealed  ear.  Wherever  he  comes,  a 
holy  joy,  an  overwhelming  awe  seize  the  people.  If  not 
received,  he  is  rejected  with  a  hatred  that  seems  devil- 
born.  He  appears  in  Galilee,  and  wins  disciples,  con- 
quers devils,  attracts  the  people,  rouses  the  hatred  of  the 
Pharisees  and  scribes.      He  battles  against  the  unbelief 

6* 


26  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

of  his  people,  encounters  the  hostility  of  the  king.  The 
final  scenes  approach.  Everywhere  are  conflicts  and  vic- 
tories. Into  Jerusalem  he  rides  in  triumph,  cleanses  the 
temple,  asserts  himself  not  only  Lord  to  save,  but  also  to 
destroy.  Then  come  agony  and  shame  and  death.  The 
only  articulate  cry  which  Mark  records  is  well  named  the 
*'  Lion's  cry  of  pain,"  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?"  but  even  when  he  died,  he  impressed  the 
centurion  with  his  glory,  and  was  declared  by  the  Roman 
to  be  truly  the  Son  of  God.  How  brief  is  the  picture  of 
the  risen  Lord,  but  how  vivid  !  and  if  the  concluding  pas- 
sages of  the  gospel  (16:9-20)  be  accepted  as  genuinely 
the  work  of  Mark,  is  it  not  still  in  perfect  consistency 
that,  having  abruptly  closed  at  the  eighth  verse,  he  should 
have  added  another  section,  swift  and  brief  and  expres- 
sive, in  which  our  Lord's  final  victory  over  his  disciples' 
doubt  is  recorded,  and  the  triumphant  progress  of  his 
gospel  declared,  with  the  accompanying  victory  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  confirming  signs  which  followed  the  preach- 
ing of  his  word  } 

If  we  ask  the  question,  "  For  whom  was  this  gospel 
specially  prepared  .^"  the  answer  would  seem  to  be  ready, 
For  Gentile  Christians.  And  the  proofs  of  this  have  been 
thus  summarized :  First,  the  omission  of  all  genealogical 
notices  of  our  Lord's  descent.  Had  Mark  intended  his 
gospel  for  the  Jews,  he  would  have  been  careful  to  define 
the  place  of  our  Lord's  family  in  relation  to  the  Jewish 
kingdom  and  religion. 

In  the  second  place,  when  we  compare  Mark  espe- 
cially with  Matthew,  we  are  struck  with,  the  absence  in 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  27 

our  gospel  of  Old  Testament  citations.  There  are  only 
two,  I  :  2,  3,  and  15  :  28,  and  the  latter  is  rejected  by  the 
critics  as  having  no  authority.  Some  of  the  Hebrew 
and  Aramaean  terms  are  accompanied  by  a  translation. 
"Talitha  cumi"  of  5  :  41  is  interpreted,  as  are  also  "  Cor- 
ban,  a  gift,"  of  7  :  11,  and  "  Ephphatha,  Be  opened,"  of  the 
34th  verse  of  the  same  chapter.  In  7 :  3,  4  the  writer 
explains  the  customs  of  the  Jews  in  respect  of  washing 
of  hands  before  meals ;  while  some  additions  and  some 
omissions  are  found  in  narratives  common  to  Mark  and 
the  other  gospels,  which  may  suggest  that  the  evangelist 
had  a  particular  class  before  his  eye  when  he  composed 
his  history.  In  11:17,  Mark  inserts  the  words,  "for  all 
the  nations,"  where  our  Lord  speaks  of  the  house  of  God 
being  called  a  house  of  prayer.  Tfiere  is  no  mention  of 
the  Jewish  law  in  this  gospel,  and  the  limitations  of  the 
mission  of  the  disciples,  which  Matthew  relates — that 
they  are  not  to  go  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into 
any  city  of  the  Samaritans  they  were  not  to  enter — are 
omitted  by  Mark,  which  omission  is  also  to  be  observed 
in  the  third  gospel — perhaps  the  most  humane  and  cos- 
mopolitan of  all. 

As  to  the  questions  of  place,  and  time,  and  language,^ 
in  which  the  gospel  was  composed,  we  have  only  the 
conjectures  of  the  critics.  Irenaeus  (III.,  i)  says  that  it 
was  after  the  deaths  of  Peter  and  Paul.  This  would  be 
probably  later  than  the  year  63.  It  is  not  likely  that  the 
gospel  was  composed  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
for  we  can  hardly  think  that  such  an  event  would  be  un- 
noticed in  its  pages.     This  may  therefore  supply  us  with 


28  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

a  term  beyond  which  we  cannot  affix  a  date  for  its  com- 
position. 

Most  ancient  writers,  such  as  Clement,  Eusebius, 
Jerome,  and  Epiphanes,  state  that  the  place  of  composi- 
tion was  the  scene  of  the  martyrdom  of  the  apostle  at 
whose  inspiration  the  gospel  was  supposed  to  have  been 
written.  Chrysostom  says  Alexandria,  and  a  modern 
critic  fixes  on  Antioch,  from  a  comparison  (on  too  slen- 
der grounds)  of  Acts  1 1  :  20  with  chap.  15:21  of  the  gos- 
pel. This  is  perhaps  a  good  example  of  the  narrow  foun- 
dation upon  which  modern  criticism  is  able  to  build  its 
splendid  erections  of  conjecture,  hypothesis,  belief,  or  in- 
fidelity. 

The  language  of  the  gospel  was  presumably  Greek. 
Here  also  there  is  nothing  upon  which  any  definite  con- 
clusions can  be  reached.  The  language  which  Mark  used 
was  most  likely  to  have  been  Greek ;  and  the  argument  in 
favor  of  Latin,  which  Romish  writers  have  urged,  seems 
not  to  be  well  founded. 

Little  remains  for  us  now  to  say,  but  in  conclusion,  to 
present  a  brief  abstract  or  general  view  of  the  contents 
of  the  gospel. 

Lange  suggests  that  the  words  of  Peter,  in  Acts 
10:  38,  may  be  taken  as  its  motto:  "Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
anointed  by  God  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power : 
who  went  about  doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were 
oppressed  of  the  devil ;  for  God  was  with  him." 

It  were  indeed  a  vain  thing  for  us  to  endeavor  to  pre- 
sent the  aspect  of  our  Lord  and  his  life  as  seen  by  the 
evangelist  Mark.    How  poor  and  feeble  are  all  the  words 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  29 

of  uninspired  historians,  after  the  rich  fulness  of  the  word 
of  God  !  And  yet  our  sketch  of  the  evangehst  and  his 
gospel  will  be  incomplete  unless,  as  we  close,  we  endeavor 
to  draw  the  picture  of  our  Lord  which  Mark  sets  before 
us,  though  it  can  be,  at  best,  only  an  imperfect  sketch. 

He  stands  forth,  in  the  very  first  words,  a  full-grown 
man.  We  see  him  before  the  Baptist.  And  there,  having 
had  the  consecration  which  gathers  all  the  past  of  law 
and  prophets  upon  his  head,  he  is  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  announced  to  the  world,  by  the  voice  of  God, 
as  the  Beloved  Son  in  whom  the  Eternal  is  well  pleased. 
Thence  he  passes  to  the  conflict  with  the  devil  in  the 
temptation  of  the  wilderness,  whence,  all  victorious,  he 
returns  with  angels  as  his  ministers.  When  he  comes 
forth  to  preach  the  kingdom,  he  calls  disciples,  and  they 
obey.  The  people  are  astonished  at  his  doctrine,  and 
the  ills  which  afflict  humanity  fly  at  his  word  and  touch. 
Demons,  fevers,  palsies,  leprosies — every  form  of  human 
misery  he  meets  and  conquers.  His  fame  goes  abroad 
throughout  all  the  region,  and  vast  crowds  gather  to  hear 
his  words  and  see  his  wondrous  works. 

And  this  ministry,  so  strange,  so  powerful,  is  not  for 
the  privileged  few,  the  recognized  respectabilities  of  the 
time.  It  is  for  humanity.  A  publican  hears  his  call  and 
follows,  leaving  the  receipt  of  custom  and  all  he  pos- 
sessed. He  takes  his  place  among  the  publicans  and 
sinners,  relaxes  the  code  of  traditionary  religion,  and  de- 
fends his  followers  from  the  charges  of  sacrilege  and  want 
of  reverence  which  are  brought  against  them. 

Further  manifestations  of  power  are  given,  and  the 


30  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

signs  of  conflict  multiply.  He  is  charged  with  possess- 
ing a  devil,  and  the  very  grace  by  which  he  conquers 
Satan  is  referred  to  Beelzebub.  Now  he  comes  forth  as 
the  friend  and  brother  of  mankind,  and  declares  that  obe- 
dience to  his  will  and  the  fulfilment  of  his  word  will  bind 
a  man  more  closely  to  him  than  the  most  sacred  ties  of 
sister,  brother,  mother. 

But  Jesus  is  not  only  a  miracle  worker.  He  speaks 
the  word  of  wisdom,  and  binds  his  truth  and  the  signifi- 
cance of  his  growing  word  upon  the  ear  of  corn,  the 
mustard  grains,  the  bursting  seeds.  He  sleeps  in  weari- 
ness upon  a  pillow  in  the  hinder  portion  of  the  rocking 
boat.  The  tempest  beats,  and  threatens  to  overwhelm. 
They  wake  him.  He  rises,  speaks  to  the  sea,  and  all  is 
calm.  Verily,  it  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  worketh  thus, 
so  mightily  upon  earth. 

A  legion  of  devils  is  conquered — death  itself  com- 
pelled to  give  up  its  victim.  At  home,  abroad,  in  Galilee 
or  Gadara,  he  is  everywhere,  alike,  the  very  power  of  the 
mighty  God. 

But  now  comes  opposition.  His  fellow-countrymen 
condemn  him,  and  deprive  themselves  of  his  gracious 
workings  by  their  want  of  faith.  But  this  does  not  les- 
sen the  power  of  Christ.  Indeed,  he  endows  his  disciples 
with  the  same  all-conquering  force.  He  walks  the  sea, 
and  its  waves  are  adamant.  He  breaks  the  bread,  and 
with  a  harvest-fulness,  feeds  five  thousand  with  the  food 
of  five. 

**  'T  was  springtime  when  he  blessed  the  bread, 
'T  was  harvest  when  he  broke." 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  31 

The  signs  of  opposition  are  not  only  among  the  people. 
The  scribes  feel  the  terrible  force  of  his  words  of  purity, 
and  the  king  hears  of  him,  and  would  fain  see  more  of  his 
mighty  works.  Now  he  advances  to  attack  the  hypocrite 
and  unmask  the  false  pretender  to  religious  sanctity. 
The  common  people  hear  him  gladly,  rejoice  at  his 
power,  and  lift  up  the  voice  of  praise  and  glory. 

The  miracle  of  feeding,  repeated,  gives  occasion  for 
further  onslaught  upon  the  leaven  of  Pharisees  and  Her- 
od. He  confesses  himself  to  be  the  Christ,  and  utters  the 
prediction  to  his  disciples  of  his  coming  passion,  with  a 
promise  of  future  victory. 

His  transfiguration  displays  the  indwelling  Godhead. 
His  works  of  power,  repeated  among  the  people,  show 
how  he  has  the  faith  which  is  ever  victorious  ;  and  with 
lessons  to  his  disciples  upon  humility  and  catholicity  of 
heart,  the  first  part  of  the  gospel  closes  with  his  retire- 
ment from  Galilee  into  the  deserts  of  Peraea. 

Here  he  prepares  his  disciples  for  the  journey  that 
lies  before  them,  combating  the  carnal  doctrines  of  Phar- 
isees and  scribes,  schooling  the  ambitions  of  his  follow- 
ers, and  making  ready  for  the  wonderful  scenes  which  are 
to  crowd  upon  him  in  his  last  days. 

Now  he  moves  onward  to  Jerusalem  ;  at  Jericho,  heals 
Bartimeus,  the  blind  man  ;  sends  for  the  colt  upon  which 
he  shall  ride,  and  enters  the  sacred  city  with  a  triumphal 
procession.  The  fig-tree  is  cursed,  the  temple  is  purged. 
He  asserts  his  right  to  perform  these  deeds  of  a  divine 
authority,  and  refuses  the  challenge  of  his  enemies. 
Words  of  solemn  import,  warning  the  careless,  the  un-. 


32  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

faithful,  are  spoken  in  parables.  The  quibbles  of  rabbis 
and  the  questions  of  lawyers  are  answered,  with  a  wis- 
i(iom  none  can  gainsay.  He  closes  the  mouth  of  adver- 
saries, and  gives  occasion  for  the  praise  of  the  people ; 
he  tenderly  observes  and  commends  the  poor  widow, 
whose  mites  are  richer  gifts  in  God's  treasury  than  all 
the  lavish  bounty  of  the  wealthy. 

Then  he  foretells  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  prom- 
ises judgment  and  deliverance,  and  paints  the  awful  pic- 
tures of  the  last  days. 

But  conspiracy  and  plot  are  thickening.  Having 
eaten  the  passover  and  instituted  the  Christian  feast,  he 
passes  to  Gethsemane,  to  the  council,  to  Pilate's  bar,  to 
the  cross,  to  the  grave.  Now  it  seems  as  if  the  strong 
One  were  indeed  overcome,  as  if  the  very  Elect  of  God 
must  yield  to  the  great  wickedness  of  the  destroyer.  But 
no,  the  grave  is  empty !  The  Lord  has  risen,  appears  to 
his  disciples,  and  ascends  into  glory  ! 

Thus,  in  rapid  outline  have  we  sketched  the  picture 
which  the  evangelist  has  given  us.  "Who  is  this  that 
comes  from  Edom,"  we  ask,  "  with  dyed  garments  from 
Bozrah  t  this  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel,  travelling  in 
the  greatness  of  his  strength  t  I  that  speak  in  righteous- 
ness, mighty  to  save. 

"Wherefore  art  thou  red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy 
garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in  the  winefat  1 

"  I  have  trodden  the  winepress  alone,  and  of  the  peo- 
ple there  was  none  with  me." 

See  how  the  mighty  Lord  appears.  The  heavens 
open  and  proclaim  him  the  Son  of  God.    He  speaks,  and 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK.  33 

the  people  hear  with  awe  and  wonder.  He  moves  among 
them,  and  stills  the  madness  of  the  fever's  pulse,  pours 
light  upon  the  darkened  eye,  says,  "  Be  opened,"  to  the 
deaf,  rolls  upon  the  astonished  ear  the  music  of  this  joy- 
ous world,  while  the  lips  are  loosed  to  sing  the  praises 
of  our  God.  Devils  quake  and  tremble,  and  fly  before 
his  holy  gaze.  The  leprous  stand  with  skins  as  pure  as 
the  infant's,  when  He  touches  or  speaks  the,  healing  word. 
And  death,  itself,  acknowledges  Him,  as  Lord,  and  lays 
down  its  spoils,  already  vanquished  and  destroyed.  See 
how  He  stills  the  sea,  controls  the  storm,  and  bends  all 
nature's  forces  to  his  will ! 

Yet  men  oppose  him.  Faithlessness  robs  him  of  his 
triumph,  but  chiefly  itself  of  his  grace.  Hypocrisy  hates, 
and  plots  against,  and  kills  him.  Royal  wickedness  and 
priestly  blindness,  with  injustice  seated  on  the  throne  of 
equity,  combine  to  destroy  the  Son  of  God.  And  they 
triumph;  but  it  is  only  a  seeming  triumph,  for  he  who 
in  his  ministry  often  retires  for  rest  and  communion  with 
God,  that  he  might  come  forth  to  mightier  working,  lies 
down  in  the  silent  tomb  only  that  he  might  return  to 
life,  death  all  vanquished,  sins  all  smitten,  hell  crushed, 
heaven  opened  ;  that  he  might  be  for  ever  the  Lord  and 
Saviour  of  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 

Here,  then,  is  the  Jesus  whom  Mark  presents  to  us — 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Lord  and  Master  of  men,  great  ago- 
nizer,  mighty  conqueror,  destroyer  of  all  evil,  founder,  king 
for  ever  of  all  good.  And  yet  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah  is  gentle  as  the  Lamb  of  God.  Does  he  not  sigh  o'er 
human  suffering  and  want  t    Does  he  not  gently  and  ten- 

7 


34  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MARK. 

derly  remember  all  men  in  their  deep  needs  of  sinfulness 
and  sorrow  ?  If  not  as  sublime  as  the  Jesus  of  John  ;  if 
not  as  human  as  the  Christ  of  the  good  physician's  por- 
traiture; if  he  does  not  gather  up  the  lines  of  all  the 
past,  and  show  himself  the  issue  and  the  glory  of  all  that 
has  gone  before  as  the  fulfiller  of  the  publican's  narra- 
tive— Mark's  Christ  is  still  a  Christ  we  need — a  Lord  to 
save,  strong  to  conquer  for  us,  wise  to  rule.  Thus  is 
completed  the  glorious  square  of  the  evangelic  history, 
and  won  by  the  love  of  the  God-man  whom  the  proph- 
ets predicted  and  the  types  foreshadowed,  we  rest  confi- 
dently in  the  hands  of  Him  who  is  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world,  the  Lord  God  omnipotent,  who 
reigneth  and  triumpheth  for  evermore. 


THE  GOSPEL 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE. 


BY  REV,  WILLIAM  LLOYD, 

NEW  YORK. 


THE 


QOSPEL  ACCORDINQ  TO  LUKE. 


About  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  a  Jewish  exile  sat  upon  the  banks  of 
the  river  Chebar.  He  was  one  of  many  captives  who 
had  been  carried  to  Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  As 
he  sat  sadly  musing,  the  heavens  were  opened  and  he 
saw  visions  of  God  which  are  thus  recorded :  "  And  I 
looked,  and,  behold,  a  whirlwind  came  out  of  the  north, 
a  great  cloud,  and  a  fire  infolding  itself,  and  a  brightness 
was  about  it,  and  out  of  the  midst  thereof  as  the  color  of 
amber,  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire.  Also  out  of  the 
midst  thereof  came  the  likeness  of  four  living  creatures. 
And  this  was  their  appearance  :  they  had  the  likeness  of 
a  man.     And  every  one  had  four  faces,  and  every  one  had 

four  wings As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces, 

they  four  had  the  face  of  a  man,  and  the  face  of  a  lion, 
on  the  right  side  :  and  they  four  had  the  face  of  an  ox  on 
the  left  side  ;  and  they  four  had  also  the  face  of  an  eagle." 

More  than  six  centuries  after  this  vision  had  been 
accorded  to  tlte  captive  Ezekiel,  another  Jewish  exile  was 

7"' 


4  THE  GOSPEL 

walking  upon  the  wave-washed  shore  of  the  isle  of  Pat- 
mos  whither  he  had  been  banished  for  the  truth's  sake. 
Unto  him  also  was  given  a  vision  which  you  will  find  in 
Rev.,  ch.  4.  "  And  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  (that  is, 
the  throne  of  God)  were  four  living  creatures ;  and  the 
first  living  creature  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second  like 
unto  a  calf,  and  the  third  had  the  face  of  a  man,  and  the 
fourth  living  creature  was  like  unto  a  flying  eagle.** 

It  is  impossible  for  the  reader  to  fail  to  note  the 
similarity  of  these  two  visions.  According  to  some  of 
the  early  Fathers,  these  cherubic  forms  were  representa- 
tive of  the  four  phases  of  Christ's  person,  character,  and 
works,  which  the  Four  Gospels  delineate.  It  is  clear 
that  a  different  aim  prompted  and  guided  each  evange- 
list in  his  work.  There  is  nothing  casual  or  random  in 
their  narratives.  Each  seems  to  have  a  well-defined  line 
of  thought  and  purpose.  Each  has  a  plan  through  which 
this  purpose  is  seen  running  like  a  thread,  around  which 
the  incidents  crystallize  into  beautiful  and  symmetrical 
shape.  They  do  not  describe  four  Christs,  but  the  one 
Christ  in  four  aspects.  Christ  is  the  same  in  each  and 
all.  It  is  the  same  glorious  figure  that  stands  forth  upon 
the  pages  of  each,  the  difference  is  only  in  the  lines  of 
perspective.  Now  this  view  of  the  Fathers  may  be  only 
a  fancy,  but  it  is  not  a  vain  or  profitless  one.  It  was,  as 
Illuminated  Missals,  old  Bibles,  Windows  of  Churches 
and  Marble  carvings  witness,  for  centuries  regarded  by 
the  church  as  a  correct  application. 

Matthew  shows  us  the  face  of  the  Lion:  Christ  as  a 
king  and  the  founder  of  a  kingdom.     Hi^  Gospel  binds 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  5 

as  a  clasp  the  Old  with  the  New  Testament.  He  holds 
up  the  lamp  of  prophecy  and  flings  its  radiance  full  upon 
Christ  the  Messiah,  and  shows  us  that  the  kingdom  of 
Israel  which  found  its  first  fitting  expression  in  David 
was  But  an  adumbration  of  the  greater  kingdom  of 
which  Christ  was  the  king.  Matthew's  is  the  Gospel  of 
the  Royalty  of  Jesus. 

Mark  gives  us  the  face  of  the  patient  Ox.  In  his 
evangel  we  see  the  divine  Son,  the  servant  of  man,  bear- 
ing men's  burdens,  healing  their  sicknesses,  and  whether 
bound  to  the  plough  or  prepared  for  the  altar  the  servant 
of  all. 

John's  is  the  face  of  the  Eagle.  He  soars  into  realms 
of  thought  so  bright  with  the  light  that  enfolds  and 
drapes  Deity,  that  we  shade  our  eyes  in  the  dazzling 
presence. 

Luke  discloses  the  face  of  The  Man.  Christ  on  the 
human  side.  Humanity  shown  as  God  designs  it  to  be. 
To  this  third  Gospel  and  its  author  I  am  requested  to 
direct  your  thoughts,  and  to  this  particular  manifestation 
of  Christ  it  is  my  purpose  to  devote  this  lecture. 

Firstly,  I  will  speak  upon  the  author.  You  will 
acknowledge  that  acquaintance,  either  personal  or  his- 
torical, with  the  author  of  any  work  tends  to  increase  our 
interest  therein,  and  enables  us  the  better  to  understand 
it.  You  stand  before  a  painting  by  some  master  hand. 
You  are  charmed  by  the  genius  it  displays,  its  breadth 
of  tone  and  fidelity  to  truth.  But  if  you  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  artist,  his  mental  peculiarities,  the  idiosyn- 
crasies of  his  style,  (if  I  may  so  call  them,)  your  pleasure 


6  THE  GOSPEL 

in  viewing  it  is  greatly  enhanced.  Fine  lines  and  slight 
touches,  which  would  otherwise  pass  unnoticed,  become 
deeply  suggestive.  So  is  it  with  a  book.  Every  true 
book  is  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  a  revelation  of  its 
author.  Knowledge  of  the  author  alone  enables  us  to 
fully  enter  into  and  understand  it.  This  is  certainly  true 
of  the  Gospels.  For  while  we  claim  for  them  a  plenary 
inspiration,  we  also  claim  they  are  stamped  with  the 
personality  of  their  authors. 

The  Gospel  according  to  Luke.  The  records  concern- 
ing the  writer  of  this  book  are  few  and  fragmentary. 
His  name  is  an  abbreviation  of  Lucanus,  and  he  is  not 
to  be  confounded  with  Lucius  mentioned  in  Acts  13:1; 
Rom.  16  :  21.  His  name  is  mentioned  three  times  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  is  found  in  some  few  brief  ecclesi- 
astical traditions.  We  must  be  content  to  blend  the 
certain  and  uncertain,  the  traditional  and  Scriptural 
records.  Brief  as  these  are,  and  dim  as  is  the  outline  of 
his  life  they  furnish,  we  nevertheless  gather  three  very 
important  and  undeniable  facts. 

First  in  order  is  the  passage  found  in  Col.  4  :  14. 
"  Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  and  Demas,  greet  you." 
From  the  connection  in  which  this  passage  stands  it  is 
clear  Luke  was  of  Pagan  origin.  In  verses  10-12  Paul 
mentions  his  fellow-laborers  who  were  of  the  circumcis- 
ion, that  is,  Jews,  and  in  verse  13  those  who  were  of 
Gentile  birth,  and  in  this  group  Luke  is  placed.  He  was 
probably  born  at  Antioch.     (Eusebius'  Hist.  3  :4.) 

This  is  a  very  suggestive  fact.  It  demonstrates  that 
not  only  was  not  the  mission  of  Christ  confined  to  the 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE,  7 

limits  of  Judaism,  but  the  work  of  recording  it  was  not 
to  be  exclusively  in  Jewish  hands.  It  was  eminently 
fitting  that  the  Gospel,  which  should  more  than  any  other 
declare  the  fulness,  the  universality  of  the  grace  of  God, 
the  light  which  should  lighten  the  Gentiles,  should  be 
written  by  one  who  had  been  brought  out  of  pagan  dark- 
ness into  its  marvellous  light.  When  he  was  converted 
we  know  not.  Some  have  supposed  under  the  ministry 
of  Christ  himself,  that  he  was  one  of  the  Seventy,  and 
also  one  of  the  two  unto  whom  Christ  appeared  on  the 
way  to  Emmaus.  But  this,  I  think,  the  prologue  to  his 
Gospel  disproves.  There  is  in  that  a  clear  intimation 
that  he  was  not  an  eyewitness  of  the  facts  he  records. 
The  strongest  supposition  is  that  he  was  converted 
through  the  labor  of  the  apostle  Paul,  with  whose  jour- 
neyings  and  toils  he  became  so  intimately  associated. 

The  second  fact  we  learn  is,  "  he  was  a  physician." 
This  is  of  value.  It  shows  that  he  was  a  man  of  educa- 
tion. I  know  this  is  disputed  by  the  archbishop  of  York, 
who  wrote  the  article  upon  Luke  in  Smith's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary ;  but  there  is  one  important  historical  fact  cited 
by  Tholuck  and  Godet,  which  is  confirmatory  of  this 
opinion :  "  There  existed  at  Rome  in  the  time  of  the  em- 
perors a  system  of  medical  supervision  ;  a  superior  col- 
lege was  charged  with  the  duty  of  examining  in  every 
city  those  who  desired  to  practise  the  healing  art.  Newly- 
admitted  practitioners  were  placed  under  the  care  of 
older  physicians ;  their  modes  of  treatment  were  strictly 
scrutinized,  and  their  mistakes  severely  punished,  some- 
times by  taking  away  their  diplomas."     Luke  must  have 


8  THE  GOSPEL 

passed  through  this  ordeal  successfully,  and  therefore  pos- 
sessed, we  conclude,  an  amount  of  scientific  and  literary 
culture  above  the  majority  of  the  other  evangelists  and 
apostles.  We  need  only  refer  you  to  the  grace,  dignity, 
and  purity  of  his  literary  style  as  a  further  confirmation 
of  this.  It  is  in  beautiful  harmony  with  the  design  of 
this  Gospel  that  the  writer  should  have  been  a  member 
of  one  of  the  most  humane,  liberal,  and  beneficial  pro- 
fessions. 

The  third  fact  we  learn  is  that  he  was  a  beloved  fel- 
low-laborer with  Paul  in  his  mission  to  the  heathen,  and 
the  writer  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Read  in  2  Tim. 
4:11.  As  this  lecture  is  not  a  critical  one,  I  will  simply 
call  your  attention  to  a  few  passages  which  throw  light 
upon  this,  and  thereby  considerably  enrich  our  knowl- 
edge of  our  author's  life. 

**  And  after  he  had  seen  the  vision,  immediately  we 
endeavored  to  go  into  Macedonia,  assuredly  gathering 
that  the  Lord  had  called  us  for  to  preach  the  gospel  unto 
them.  Therefore  loosing  from  Troas,  we  came  with  a 
straight  course  to  Samothracia,  and  the  next  day  to  Ne- 
apolis ;  and  from  thence  to  Philippi,  which  is  the  chief 
city  of  that  part  of  Macedonia,  and  a  colony  :  and  we  were 
in  that  city  abiding  certain  days,"  etc.     Acts  16  :  10-17. 

"  There  accompanied  him  into  Asia  Sopater  of  Berea ; 
and  of  the  Thessalonians,  Aristarchus  and  Secundus  ; 
and  Gains  of  Derbe,  and  Timotheus  ;  and  of  Asia,  Tych- 
icus  and  Trophimus.  These  going  before  tarried  for  us 
at  Troas.  And  we  sailed  away  from  PhiUppi  after  the 
days  of  unleavened  bread,  and  came  unto  them  to  Troas 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  9 

in  five  days ;  where  we  abode  seven  days."  Acts 
20 : 4-6. 

"  And  when  we  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the  brethren 
received  us  gladly."     Acts  21:17. 

"And  when  it  was  determined  that  we  should  sail 
into  Italy,  they  delivered  Paul  and  certain  other  prison- 
ers unto  one  named  Julius."     Acts  27 :  i. 

"  And  when  we  came  to  Rome,  the  centurion  deliv- 
ered the  prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the  guard :  but  Paul 
was  suffered  to  dwell  by  himself  with  a  soldier  that  kept 
him."     Acts  28  :  16. 

From  these  passages  we  see  the  first  clear  ray  of  his- 
torical light  fall  upon  Luke  when  he  joins  Paul  at  Troas. 
They  also  indicate  through  what  parts  of  the  great  apos- 
tle's missionary  tour  the  beloved  physician  was  his  com- 
panion. 

Silently,  unobtrusively,  he  takes  his  place  with  Paul, 
the  fact  being  marked  only  by  the  transition  in  the  style 
of  narrative  from  the  singular  to  the  first  person  plural. 
He  accompanies  him  to  Philippi,  the  place  where  the 
gospel  standard  was  first  planted  in  Europe ;  with  some 
slight  interruptions  shares  in  his  toils  and  perils  until 
the  end  came  in  the  last  imprisonment  and  the  martyr's 
death  at  Rome. 

Of  the  latter  part  of  Luke's  life  we  know  nothing 
certainly.  Legends  cluster  about  his  name,  but  we  have 
no  means  of  ascertaining  their  truth — the  most  probable 
being  that  he  died  in  Achaia ;  and  Jerome  says  "  the 
emperor  Constantine  sought  for  his  ashes  to  carry  them 
away  to  Constantinople." 


lo  THE  GOSPEL 

Such  is  a  brief  and  imperfect  outline  of  the  life  of  the 
man  who  by  birth,  character,  culture,  and  association,  was 
eminently  fitted  to  write  this  third  Gospel.  We  will  now 
proceed  to  the  study  of  the  book. 

When  and  where  was  it  written .?  What  are  the 
proofs  of  its  authenticity }  Is  the  gospel  we  possess  the 
gospel  written  by  Luke  and  dedicated  to  Theophilus } 
What  relation  to  the  other  Gospels  does  it  sustain,  and 
what  is  its  aim  and  purpose  .-*  These  are  the  questions 
we  propose  to  examine  briefly  and  as  far  as  we  are  able 
to  answer. 

I.  The  place  where  it  was  written  is  unknown.  Opin- 
ions are  divided  between  Caesarea,  Achaia,  Alexandria, 
Rome,  and  Asia  Minor.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  ver- 
ify any  of  these  traditions  and  conjectures,  neither  is  the 
verification,  if  possible,  of  any  great  importance.  The 
date,  however,  is  of  grave  importance.  And  upon  this 
we  are  not  left  in  much  doubt.  We  will  with  Godet  take 
our  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century  and  as- 
cend the  stream.  If  we  find  in  a  book  of  any  certain 
date,  quotations  from  some  other  writer,  then  it  follows 
that  the  book  quoted  from  existed  before  the  composition 
of  the  one  in  which  the  quotation  is  found.  Now  it  is 
well  known  that  quotations  from  this  Gospel  are  found  in 
works  issued  between  the  years  i6o  and  195.  Theophilus 
of  Antioch  wrote  about  170;  Irenaeus  about  180.  The 
Clementine  Homilies  appeared  about  160.  In  all  of 
these  and  other  works  I  have  not  named  of  the  same 
time,  undoubted  quotations  from  Luke  are  found.  Still 
further  proof  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that  the  Gnostic 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  n 

Heracleon  wrote  a  commentary  upon  this  Gospel  and 
upon  John's  between  the  years  175  and  195.  By  Origen 
this  Gospel  is  ranked  among  the  four  Gospels  admitted 
by  all  the  churches  under  heaven.  A  majority  of  the 
most  reliable  commentators  place  the  date  of  its  compo- 
sition between  the  years  58  and  64,  some  years  before 
the  Acts,  it  being  "the  former  treatise,"  to  which  Luke 
refers  in  the  opening  of  that  book.  We  thus  perceive 
that  it  was  given  to  the  world  while  there  were  upon  the 
earth  eyewitnesses  of  our  Lord's  life  who  could  have 
exposed  the  falsehood  of  any  statement  therein  contained, 
had  it  been  untrue. 

n.  Its  authenticity.  Proofs  of  genuineness  are  fur- 
nished first  by  heretical  writings.  The  enemies  of  the  cross 
of  Christ  have  ever  been  made  to  minister  to  its  triumphs. 
From  the  writings  of  errorists  and  perverters  some  of 
the  strongest  confirmations  of  truth  have  been  gathered. 
From  the  years  120  to  170  lived  and  taught  three  great 
heretics,  Marcion,  Cerdo,  and  Bassilides.  Marcion  was 
the  author  of  a  gospel  written  evidently  to  support  theo- 
ries he  himself  taught.  His  system  may  be  briefly 
stated  thus  :  He  held  that  the  Old  Testament  was  not  a 
preparation  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  but  was  in  spirit 
hostile  to  the  gospel.  That  the  God  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  a  lower  being  than  Christ,  and  characterized 
only  by  jealousy  and  cruelty.  In  this  divorce  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  of  God  and  Christ,  he  was 
preceded  by  Cerdo.  Perhaps  his  error  was  the  result  of 
his  strong  repulsion  to  the  Judaic  conception  which 
claimed  Christ  as  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews  only.     But  his 


12  THE  GOSPEL 

gospel  is  manifestly  a  perversion  and  falsification  of  facts 
gained  from  other  sources.  Many  passages  are  clearly 
alterations  of  Luke,  and  says  Godet,  "A  scientific  criti- 
cism can  only  conclude  that  our  Gospel  of  Luke  was  in 
existence  before  that  of  Marcion,  and  that  he  chose  this 
among  all  the  gospels  as  the  one  which  he  could  the 
most  readily  adapt  to  his  system."  Thus  it  is  clear  that 
in  the  year  140  this  Gospel  possessed  full  authority,  the 
result  of  a  conviction  of  its  genuineness. 

Bassilides,  a  Gnostic  of  Alexandria,  claimed  to  be  a 
pupil  of  the  Apostle  Matthias,  which  claim  implies  the 
circulation  of  the  Acts,  in  which  alone  is  the  apostolate 
of  Matthias  recorded,  and  consequently  of  this  Gospel 
which  we  have  proved  was  composed  before  the  Acts. 

Secondly,  we  have  the  testimony  from  the  church 
Fathers.  Having  proved  that  this  Gospel  was  in  the 
hands  of  Marcion  and  Cerdo  in  the  year  140,  it  is  perfectly 
legitimate  to  assume  that  it  was  received  by  the  church 
and  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Fathers  of  that  period. 
To  their  witness  we  therefore  turn  for  further  proof  of 
its  genuineness.  I  here  refer  you  principally  to  Godet's 
Introduction  and  also  to  Ebrard's  Gospel  History.  In 
the  writings  of  Justin  Martyr,  says  Godet,  we  find  passa- 
ges which  prove  unanswerably  that  the  writer  was  ac- 
quainted with  and  used  as  authoritative  this  Gospel.  The 
angelic  announcement  to  Mary  is  quoted  in  his  dialogue 
with  Trypho  almost  verbatim.  The  taxing  of  Quirinus, 
which  is  given  only  by  Luke,  is  also  mentioned.  The 
institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  given  according  to  the 
text  of  Luke,  and  the  sending  of  Jesus  to  Herod,  as  also 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  13 

the  cry,  "  Father,  into  thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit,"  both 
of  which  facts  of  the  passion  of  our  Redeemer  are  re- 
corded only  by  our  evangehst.  Is  it  possible  then  to 
doubt  that  this  Gospel  formed  a  recognized  part  of  those 
apostolic  memoirs  from  which  this  eminent  Father  derived 
all  the  gospel  facts  by  him  narrated  ? 

We  have  seen  that  beyond  question  this  Gospel  was 
written  before  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Now  every  proof 
from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  which  proves  the  ex- 
istence of  and  acceptance  of  the  Acts,  must  be  taken 
as  proving  the  existence  and  acceptance  of  this  Gospel. 
As  the  citation  of  such  passages  will  more  properly  belong 
to  a  future  lecture,  I  'pass  them  by,  only  saying,  there 
are  many  such  in  the  writings  of  Polycarp,  Clement,  and 
others.  Says  Ebrard,  "  The  existence  of  the  Gospel  of 
Luke  in  the  very  earliest  times  is  attested  by  a  multitude 
of  proofs."  Referring  to  the  witness  of  the  Fathers,  he 
says,  "  These  witnesses  all  agree  in  this :  that  in  this 
Gospel  we  possess  the  carefully  elaborated  work  of  a  well- 
educated  man,  who  was  intimately  acquainted  with  many 
eyewitnesses  of  the  life  of  Jesus." 

Thirdly,  we  have  evidence  from  other  parts  of  the 
New  Testament.  My  time  and  space  will  prevent  an 
elaborate  presentation  of  the  proofs  from  this  source. 
They  are  found  in  the  Gospels  of  John  and  Mark,  and  in 
the  Acts.  A  most  distinct  trace  of  its  existence  and  in- 
fluence upon  other  New  Testament  writings  is  found  in 
the  close  of  Mark's  Gospel,  chap.  16:9-20.  In  many 
ancient  manuscripts  the  second  Gospel  closes  with  the 
words  of  the  eighth  verse.    It  is  absent  from  the  Sinaitic 


14 


THE  GOSPEL 


and  the  Vatican  manuscripts.  It  is  impossible  for  a 
comparison  between  it  and  some  portions  of  Luke  to  be 
instituted  without  concluding  that  it  is  borrowed  from 
the  Gospel  of  the  latter.  Compare  the  following  passages : 


Mark  16:9:  Now  when  Jesus  was 
risen  early,  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
he  appeared  first  to  Mary  Magdalene, 
out  of  whom  he  had  cast  seven  devils. 

Mark  16 :  10,  ii:  And  she  went 
and  told  them  that  had  been  with 
him,  as  they  mourned  and  wept. 
And  they,  when  they  had  heard  that 
he  was  alive,  and  had  been  seen  of 
her,  believed  not. 


Mark  16:12:  After  that,  he  ap- 
peared in  another  form  unto  two  of 
them,  as  they  walked,  and  went  into 
the  country. 


Mark  16:13:  And  they  went  and 
told  it  unto  the  residue :  neither  be- 
lieved they  them. 


Mark  16:14:  Afterward  he  ap- 
peared unto  the  eleven,  as  they  sat 
at  meat,  and  upbraided  them  with 
their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart, 
because  they  believed  not  them  which 
had  seen  him  after  he  was  risen. 


Luke  8:2:  And  certain  women, 
which  had  been  healed  of  evil  spirits 
and  infirmities,  Mary  called  Magda- 
lene, out  of  whom  went  seven  devils. 

Luke  24:  ID,  12 :  It  was  Mary  Mag- 
dalene, and  Joanna,  and  Mary  the 
mother  of  James,  and  other  women 
that  were  with  them,  which  told 
these  things  unto  the  apostles.  Then 
arose  Peter,  and  ran  unto  the  sepul- 
chre, and  stooping  down,  he  beheld 
the  linen  clothes  laid  by  themselves, 
and  departed,  wondering  in  himself 
at  that  which  was  come  to  pass. 

Luke  24 :  13,  32  :  And,  behold,  two 
of  them  went  that  same  day  to  a  vil- 
lage called  Emmaus,  which  was  from 
Jerusalem  about  threescore  furlongs. 
And  they  said  one  to  another.  Did 
not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while 
he  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and 
while  he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures  ? 

Luke  24: 33, 35 :  And  they  rose  up 
the  same  hour,  and  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  found  the  eleven  gathered 
together,  and  them  that  were  with 
them.  And  they  told  what  things 
were  done  in  the  way,  and  how  he 
was  known  of  them  in  breaking  of 
bread. 

Luke  24 :  36,  43 :  And  as  they  thus 
spake,  Jesus  himself  stood  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  saith  unto  them. 
Peace  be  unto  you.  And  he  took  it, 
and  did  eat  before  them. 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  t^ 

Up  to  the  last  chapter  wc  find  no  trace  of  Luke  in 
Mark.  We  infer  that  this  portion  was  penned  by  some 
other  hand  than  Mark's ;  and  if  so,  it  places  our  Gospel  as 
a  received  authority  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
Mark  must  have  been  interrupted  in  his  writing  by  some 
event  which  prevented  its  completion  for  some  time. 
The  only  probable  explanation  is  that  the  sudden  perse- 
cution under  Nero  in  a.  d.  64  and  the  martyrdom  of  Paul 
led  to  Mark's  hurried  flight  from  Rome.  A  copy  of  the 
unfinished  work  remained  deposited  in  the  archives  of 
the  church  there.  This  would  explain  the  existence  of 
the  unfinished  manuscript  and  its  completion  by  the  help 
of  Luke's  Gospel,  which  must  then  have  been  in  circu- 
lation. This  explanation  implies  the  high  antiquity  of 
this  book. 

Passing  over  the  corroborations  from  the  Acts,  we 
sum  up  thus :  The  use  of  this  Gospel  by  Marcion  and 
Cerdo  demonstrate  its  existence  in  the  middle  of  the  sec- 
ond century.  The  comparison  with  Mark  and  the  Acts 
gives  color  to  the  presumption  that  it  was  in  circulation 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century.  But  admitting 
this  as  open  to  question,  ecclesiastical  use  of  it  in  the 
church  in  the  second  century,  as  shown  by  Justin  and 
other  fathers,  is  decisive  and  sufficient  with  every  candid 
mind  to  establish  its' authenticity. 

Concerning  the  sources  from  which  our  author  de- 
rived his  facts  there  can  be  but  two  opinions:  ist,  that 
he  was  an  eyewitness  of  the  events  recorded.  This  his 
prologue  denies.  Or,  2d,  that  he  received  his  informa- 
tion from  the  lips  of  the  apostles,  and  from  other  wri- 


i6  THE  GOSPEL 

tings,  and  was  preserved  from  errors  by  writing  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  latter  view  I 
believe  to  be  the  correct  one.  Some  of  the  ancients  held 
that  he  wrote  entirely  under  the  influence  of  Paul.  But 
his  own  language  is  against  this  idea.  Doubtless  he 
gathered  much  from  the  lips  of  his  great  Master,  but 
with  the  Spirit  of  God  as  his  guide  the  evangelist  made 
the  Saviour's  life  a  subject  of  close  research,  and  with 
the  materials  thus  gained  wrote  the  Gospel  which  bears 
his  name. 

"  But  are  we  sure  that  the  book  as  we  have  it  has 
come  to  us  as  it  came  from  the  author's  hand .''"  I  an- 
swer, Yes.  The  afore-given  evidences  can  be  taken  in 
proof  of  this.  Moreover,  we  can  securely  rest  our  faith 
upon  the  fact  that  of  the  forty-four  New  Testament  man- 
uscripts we  still  have,  written  previous  to  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, and  which,  from  their  antiquity  and  variety,  are 
deemed  of  the  greatest  importance,  thirty  in  all  contain 
this  Gospel  in  whole  or  in  part. 

III.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  its  distinctive 
aim  and  characteristics. 

I  have  already  intimated  what  I  believe  these  to  be. 
Recurring  to  the  cherubic  symbol,  this  Gospel  shows  us 
the  face  of  the  Man.  It  is  emphatically  the  Gospel  of 
the  humanity.  It  sets  forth  the  perfect  manhood  of 
Christ  in  all  its  regal  grace  and  beauty,  in  all  its  human 
and  universal  gentleness  and  sympathy.  In  Matthew  He 
is  the  fulfiller  of  the  law,  the  restorer  of  the  kingdom.  In 
Mark  He  is  the  Lord  of  nature,  commanding  its  forces 
as  a  monarch  his  vassals,  hushing  the  waves  in  their 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  17 

wildest  mood  with  a  word,  and  holding  the  winds  like 
hounds  in  a  leash.  In  Luke  He  is  active  and  all-em- 
bracing compassion ;  the  good  Samaritan,  binding  up 
the  wounds  of  despoiled  and  smitten  humanity;  the 
good  shepherd,  seeking  over  mountain  steep  and  desert 
wild  the  lost  sheep.  It  is  the  memoir,  not  of  the  son  of 
David,  the  saviour  of  a  race,  but  of  the  Son  of  man,  the 
Second  Man.  "  Here  is  man  according  to  God  ;  the  pat- 
tern man  in  and  through  whom  all  men  are  blessed  and 
God  is  glorified,  not  only  in  moral  perfectness,  but  in  all 
the  sufferings  and  honors  which  according  to  God's  pur- 
pose are  the  heritage  of  the  sons  of  men." 

In  Christ  we  see  humanity,  triumphant  over  evil, 
bowed  to  the  dust  of  death,  raised  to  God's  right  hand 
and  invested  with  the  right  to  rule  over  all.  So  that  the 
words  which  the  poet  uttered,  when  exultingly  he  sang, 

"  Slain  like  him,  like  him  we  rise, 
Ours  the  cross,  the  grave,  the  skies," 

are  not  poetic  rhapsody,  but  grand  and  blessed  truth. 
To  do  more  than  give  a  few  hints,  which  you  may  sup- 
plement by  closer  study,  would  demand  more  time  than 
is.  permissible.  I  can  but  glance  at  some  few  forms 
in  which  this  Gospel  distinctively  portrays  Christ  the 
Ma7t. 

First  the  prologue  and  opening  chapters.  Luke  is  the 
only  evangelist  who  mentions,  in  connection  with  his 
work,  a  personal  friend.  He  dedicates  his  Gospel  to  The- 
ophilus.  Mark  also  the  difference  between  his  geneal- 
ogy and  that  givA  by  Matthew.  Matthew's  is  decidedly 
Jewish.     The  descent  of  Christ  is  traced  to  Abraham. 


i8  THE  GOSPEL 

Luke  gives  the  genealogy  to  Adam,  thereby  showing  us 
that  He  was  akin  to  the  race. 

No  less  characteristic  is  the  opening  chapter.  When 
St.  John  opens,  he  at  once  lifts  us  as  upon  eagles'  wings 
above  the  earth,  bears  us  unto  the  presence  of  the  eter- 
nal and  unbegotten  Word;  but  Luke  opens  with  the 
human  aspect  only.  He  introduces  us  to  human  rela- 
tionships and  sympathies  in  a  way  unlike  any  other  Gos- 
pel. He  alone  gives  us  the  angelic  annunciations  to 
Zacharias  and  to  Mary,  of  the  coming  both  of  the  fore- 
runner and  of  the  Lord.  Here,  and  here  only,  do  we 
find  the  canticles  of  Elisabeth  and  Mary.  What  a  fine 
touch  of  human  nature  is  given  in  thus  recording  the 
joy  of  motherhood  which  broke  forth  in  these  songs  of 
blended  maternal  and  pious  hope.  Here  also  we  have 
the  prayer  of  aged  Simeon,  whose  eyes,  dim  with  age, 
yet  see  God's  Salvation,  and  who  rejoices  that  the  light 
shall  be  not  only  the  glory  of  Israel,  but  the  light  also 
of  the  Gentiles.  Equally  remarkable  is  the  announce- 
ment made  by  the  angels  to  the  shepherds.  Matthew 
speaks  of  monarch-sages  who  came  seeking  a  king ;  but 
Luke  records  the  angelic  song,  "Behold,  I  bring  you  glad 
tidings  of  great  joy,"  etc. — a  Saviour — all  that  God  could 
give,  all  that  man  could  want ;  and  the  notes  of  that  cho- 
rus still  linger  upon  earth,  and  in  their  music  shall  all  its 
discord  yet  be  hushed. 

I  pass  over  much  which  might  be  noted  in  this  chap- 
ter in  the  same  connection,  and  come  to  the  baptism. 
Here  only  do  we  read,  "When  all  the 'people  were  bap- 
tized, Christ  also  being  baptized,  and  praying,  the  heaven 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE,  19 

was  opened."  Here  he  is  linked  with  all  the  people  in 
the  rite  of  baptism  and  in  an  act  of  devotion. 

Glance  at  a  few  facts  of  his  early  ministry.  He  opens 
that  ministry  at  Nazareth,  the  place  where  he  had  been 
brought  up.  Bringing  up  is  a  part  of  every  man's  lot. 
He  commences  by  reading  a  prophecy  which  he  claims 
for  himself,  which  describes  Him  as  an  anointed  man,  and 
declares  his  mission  is  to  proclaim  to  all  captive  souls 
deliverance,  and  good  tidings  to  all  the  sad  and  broken- 
hearted. And  this  peculiarity  runs  all  through  this  Gospel,- 
this  extension  of  grace  far  beyond  the  elect  Israel  to  the 
Gentiles.  He  sends  out  the  Twelve,  and  they  go  every- 
where preaching  the  gospel ;  and  when  on  their  return 
John  tells  of  one  whom  they  found  casting  out  devils, 
and  forbade  him  because  he  followed  not  with  them,  He 
rebukes  the  narrow  spirit,  and  declares  that  he  who  is 
not  against  Him  is  on  his  side. 

Luke  also  is  the  only  one  who  gives  us  that  touching 
revelation  of  the  Lord's  love  for  and  forbearance  with 
men  even  while  they  rejected  him — when  he  rebuked  his 
disciples  for  their  uncharitable  severity  towards  the  Sa- 
maritans, saying,  "Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit 
ye  are  of.  For  the  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy 
men's  lives,  but  to  save  them." 

In  harmony  with  this  special  love  for  man  as  man  is 
the  manner  in  which,  in  many  passages  peculiar  to  Luke, 
Christ  reveals  to  men  His  own  nature,  that  they  may  be 
made  to  feel  their  need  of  Him.  As  an  instance  I  cite 
the  revelation  which  was  made  to  Peter  by  command  to 
let  down  his  net  after  an  unsuccessful  night  of  toil,  and 


20  THE  GOSPEL 

the  result :  "  Depart  from  me,"  cries  Peter,  "  for  I  am  a 
sinful  man,  O  Lord."  It  is  the  cry  of  a  heart  conscious 
of  sin  in  the  presence  of  Sinlessness.  The  first  desire  of 
any  soul  awakened  to  a  sense  of  its  own  sinfulness  is  to 
have  the  vision  of  infinite  purity  removed.  Many  such 
fine  touches,  which  are  distinctive  of  St.  Luke,  you  will 
readily  recall. 

Again  :  Luke  gives  us  glimpses  into  Christ's  interior 
life  which  we  do  not  find  in  the  other  Gospels.  Espe- 
cially are  we  impressed  with  this  in  relation  to  that  most 
important  subject — prayer.  Matthew  records  very  fully 
Christ's  directions  concerning  prayer,  impresses  its  obli- 
gations, and  gives  most  fully  that  inimitable  model  for 
prayer  which  has  become  a  part  of  all  Christian  liturgies. 
But  Luke  does  more  than  this  :  he  shows  us  most  fully 
our  blessed  Lord  exemplifying  and  illustrating  his  own 
precepts.  As  man  He  needed  help  to  fulfil  his  great 
work,  power  to  meet  and  overcome  temptation,  patience 
to  endure  trial  and  contradiction.  So  Luke,  picturing 
Him  as  man,  shows  how  He  continually  exercised  this 
grace  of  dependence.  Only  here  do  we  read  that  at  his 
baptism  he  prayed.  Before  him  lay  the  work  of  conflict, 
the  pain  and  agony  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary ;  and  he 
prayed  as  he  was  baptized,  and  entered  upon  it.  When 
he  chose  the  Twelve,  we  read  here  only  that  "  He  con- 
tinued all  night  in  prayer ;  and  when  it  was  day  he  called 
his  disciples  unto  him,  and  of  them  he  chose  twelve." 

May  we  venture  with  most  reverent  footsteps  to  at- 
tempt to  enter  the  mystery  of  that  night  of  prayer.? 
What  supplications  ascended  that  the  men  to  be  chosen 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE,  21 

on  the  morrow  might  be  endued  with  his  spirit  and  be 
fitted  for  their  great,  new  work!  And  what  strength 
the  remembrance  of  that  night-vigil  of  their  Master  must 
have  given  them ! 

In  the  ninth  chapter  and  eighteenth  verse  we  see 
that  it  was  after  his  disciples  had  suddenly  come  upon 
him  praying,  that  Peter  made  that  grand  confession  of 
Christ's  deity,  upon  which,  as  an  immovable  rock,  the 
church  stands. 

When  with  the  favored  three,  the  sons  of  thunder 
and  the  man  of  rock,  he  stood  upon  the  mountain-brow 
and  was  transfigured,  it  is  Luke  only  who  records,  "As 
he  prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was  changed." 
A  grand  truth  this :  prayer,  the  transforming  power. 
And  to  this  Gospel  we  are  indebted  for  the  words  spoken 
to  Peter  after  his  fall  and  recovery,  words  which  have 
cheered  many  a  soul  saddened  by  failure  in  time  of  test- 
ing— "  I  have  prayed  for  thee."  All  of  this,  I  say,  is  pecu- 
liar to  Luke,  and  is  in  beautiful  harmony  with  the  aim  of 
this  Gospel  of  the  human  side  of  our  Lord. 

Again :  this  is  manifested  in  the  narratives  of  certain 
miracles  of  our  Lord :  for  example,  in  fhe  touching  story 
of  the  widow  of  Nain,  chap.  7:11-16,  and  that  of  Jairus, 
chap.  8  :  41-56,  compared  with  Matt.  9  :  18-26.  A  father 
came  seeking  his  help,  and  here  only  are  the  words  re- 
corded, "She  is  mine  only  child."  Comp.  Matt,  i/:  15. 
Such  facts  reveal  beautifully  and  blessedly  the  perfect 
sympathy  of  him  who  is  not  ashamed  to  call  us  bretJiren. 
The  same  trait  appears  in  the  parables  peculiar  to  Luke. 
We  have  not  the  parables  of  the  kingdom  as  they  appear 


22  THE  GOSPEL 

in  Matthew ;  but  we  have  those  which  are  more  espe- 
cially related  to  us  on  our  human  side.  Truth  is  pre- 
sented to  us  through  human  characteristics  and  affec- 
tions. They  always  begin,  "  A  certain  man."  Witness 
"The  Good  Samaritan,"  "The  Pharisee  and  Publican," 
and  especially  that  blessed  three,  "  The  Lost  Sheep," 
"The  Lost  Coin,"  and  "The  Prodigal  Son."  What  a 
fellowship  with  man,  lost,  helpless,  beggared,  degraded, 
and  perishing,  do  these  parables  reveal ;  and  what  an 
unfolding  of  the  depth  and  tenderness  of  the  Divine 
yearnings  over  him  they  likewise  give !  Thousands  have 
been,  and  countless  thousands  yet  unborn  will  through 
them  be,  won  from  the  mountains  of  unbelief  and  from  the 
far-off  land  of  first  revelry  and  then  want,  to  the  warmth 
of  the  Father's  house  and  heart.  As  we  near  the  close 
of  his  life  this  tender  human  element  is  still  more  mani- 
fest, and  the  universality  of  the  blessings  his  death  will 
procure  more  plainly  declared.  We  can  only  allude,  in 
this  connection,  to  the  promised  "  times  of  the  Gentiles," 
to  the  place  of  crucifixion  called  by  the  Gentile  name  of 
Calvary,  the  salvation  of  the  dying  thief,  and  to  the  pa- 
thetic and  yearning  voices  of  Calvary. 

I  had  designed  to  dwell  upon  Luke's  witness  to  our 
Lord's  divinity ;  but  I  am  warned  I  must  close.  I  refer 
you  for  this  to  Liddon's  Lectures  upon  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  where  you  will  find  the  subject  clearly  and  ex- 
haustively treated.  As  a  conclusion,  allow  me  to  pre- 
sent three  practical  lessons : 

I.  The  view  here  given  of  Christ  encourages  us  to 
approach  him  with  confidence.     His  royalty  alone  would 


ACCORDING  TO  LUKE.  23 

fill  us  with  trembling  awe.  As  we  see  him  rebuking  the 
winds  and  waves,  controlling  the  powers  of  darkness, 
summoning  the  universe  to  his  judgment-seat,  we  feel 
constrained  to  cry,  "  Depart  from  me  !"  His  deity  fully 
unveiled  would  overpower  us  with  its  infinite  splendors. 
But  in  this  Gospel  we  behold  our  Elder  Brother — man 
with  us — compassed  with  the  same  infirmities,  grappling 
with  the  same  temptations.  Are  we  tempted  }  He  was 
tempted  also.  Are  we  saddened  by  the  faithlessness  of 
friends }  He  passed  through  the  same  sorrow.  Are  we 
disheartened  because  our  most  earnest  efforts  fail }  He 
scattered  seed  only  in  many  instances  to  see  it  die  upon 
the  rock.  When  we  come  in  contrition  or  sadness  or  dis- 
couragement to  him,  we  come  not  to  a  cold  abstraction, 
but  to  a  loving,  human-hearted  Saviour,  helper,  friend. 
With  such  thoughts,  how  full  of  sweetness  and  force  are 
the  words  we  sing  : 

"  He  in  the  days  of  feeble  flesh 

Poured  out  strong  cries  and  tears, 
And  in  his  measure  feels  afresh 
What  every  member  bears." 

2.  Christ's  frequent  praying  impresses  us  with  the 
importance  and  value  of  prayer.  Did  he  pray  in  the 
presence  of  duty,  on  the  eve  of  conflict,  and  in  the  dark- 
ness of  approaching  death  }  and  shall  we  not  pray  }  Be- 
loved, believe  me,  success  in  labor,  triumph  in  strife, 
calmness  in  trial,  are  all  alike  impossible  to  the  pray- 
erless  soul.  Fellow-laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  this 
world,  learn,  I  beseech  you,  this  lesson  from  your  Lord. 
The  history  of  the  church's  heroes  is  a  history  of  the 

9 


24        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE, 

power  of  prayer.  Great  results  must  be  prepared  for  \x\ 
the  closet.  The  true  soldier  burnishes  his  armor  and 
sharpens  his  sword  ere  he  enters  the  battle.  The  best 
reapers  whet  the  sickle  ere  they  stand  amid  the  grain. 

3.  That  which  was  the  crown  and  glory  of  Christ's 
humanity  must  be  ours  also.  I  have  said  Christ's  man- 
hood was  a  manifestation  of  humanity,  as  its  Maker 
meant  it  to  be.  He  was  perfect :  tried  in  every  way, 
yet  always  true.  He  came  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father, 
and  from  that  purpose  he  never  swerved.  His  life  was 
one  of  unflinching  loyalty  to  God,  and  complete  sacrifice 
of  self  for  humanity.  By  these  he  gained  an  eternal 
sovereignty.  Angels  hastened  to  minister  unto  him  in 
his  weariness  after  conflict  and  his  agony  in  sacrifice. 
He  conquered  death  and  broke  the  bondage  of  the  grave, 
and  as  he  ascended  gave  the  pattern  and  pledge  of  the 
dominion  which  all  who  trust  in  him  and  strive  by  loy- 
alty to  God  and  love  for  man  after  perfect  manhood,  shall 
receive.  The  man  Christ  Jesus  is  the  measure  of  man's 
capacities.  Embrace  him  by  faith.  Study  his  life  as 
your  example  ;  rely  upon  his  sacrifice  as  your  salvation. 
Through  these  Gospels  behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Look  away  from  im- 
perfect men  to  the  Perfect.  Look  until,  with  the  disci- 
ples upon  the  mount,  you  see  Jesus  only.  Here,  the  gaze 
will  feed  you  with  triumphant  hope,  and  hereafter  will 
make  that  hope  a  reality,  as  gazing  upon  The  Man,  the 
God,  Jesus,  blessed  for  ever,  you  become  like  him. 


THE  GOSPEL 
ACCORDING  TO  JOHN 


BY  REV.  R.  S.  STORRS,  D.D., 

BROOKLYN.  N.  Y. 


THE 


QOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN- 


My  Christian  Friends  :  It  is  an  alluring  and  a  de- 
lightful task,  but  it  is  also  a  very  large  and  difficult  task, 
which  has  been  assigned  to  me  this  evening — to  speak 
upon  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John.  If  that  canon 
of  criticism  be  a  just  one  which  affirms  that  a  man  can 
speak  worthily  only  of  that  which  he  was  competent  to 
have  produced — that  only  the  poet  can  justly  criticise  or 
celebrate  the  poem — that  only  the  accomplished  and  skil- 
ful architect  can  fairly  illustrate  the  subtile  mysteries  of 
proportion  and  rhythm  in  great  cathedrals — that  only  the 
philosopher  can  rightly  expound  the  profound  philosophic 
treatise  of  another — who  among  the  sons  of  men  would 
venture  to  speak  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  :  the  supreme 
literary  work  in  the  world;  which  presents  the  highest 
subject,  and  presents  it  in  the  most  harmonious  and  per- 
fect manner ;  where  the  author  is  always  hidden,  while 
the  theme  is  always  luminously  exhibited  ;  where  the 
style  is  lucid  as  the  light,  while  the  contents  are  immense, 
incalculable,  surpassing  thought,  celestial  in  nature. 
Divine  in  glory  >  who  shall  speak  without  presumption  of 

9* 


4         THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN, 

this  book,  which  aims  to  present  to  us,  almost  as  in  an 
autobiography,  the  infinite  personality  of  the  one  Divine 
Being  who  has  trodden  the  earth  ? 

I  compare  with  this  aim  that  of  any  other  writer,  the 
most  distinguished  in  the  world  :  of  Plato,  in  his  "  Re- 
public ;"  of  Milton,  in  his  "  Paradise  Lost ;"  of  Dante,  in 
his  "  Divina  Commedia :"  I  compare  with  it  the  aim  of 
any  man  who  has  lifted  the  rocks  in  praise  to  God,  in  the 
walls  and  spires  of  the  cathedral,  or  who  has  covered  the 
canvas  with  the  glowing  outbreak  of  his  imagination,  in 
the  pictured  forms  of  the  Madonna  and  her  child  :  I  com- 
pare with  it  the  aim  of  the  physiologist,  searching  into 
the  secrets  of  life,  or  of  the  astronomer,  with  his  penetra- 
ting tube  sounding  the  untrodden  spaces  of  the  heavens  : 
and  there  is  no  other  aim,  contemplated  or  conceived  by 
man,  which  is  comparable  to  that  which  the  writer  of  this 
book  had  before  him,  and  which  he  has  so  marvellously 
accomplished.  If  we  wait  till  some  one  has  become  wor- 
thy to  speak  of  this  Gospel  of  John,  we  must  wait  until 
we  can  call  him  back  from  the  heavens,  again  to  open  his 
lips  before  us  as  he  did  before  the  assemblies  at  Ephe- 
sus,  to  tell  us  of  the  things  concerning  which  he  here  has 
written,  to  show  us  how  he  was  moved  and  inspired  to 
write  as  he  did  ! 

And  yet  there  are  some  things  which  may  be  said 
concerning  this  book,  in  a  merely  general  and  external 
way,  which  will  not  be  adequate,  certainly,  to  the  theme, 
but  which  may  not  be  unprofitable,  and  which  may  assist, 
more  or  less,  in  the  study  of  the  book ;  and  to  say  a  few 
of  these  things,  in  a  very  simple  manner,  is  the  purpose 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.  5 

of  my  coming  here  this  evening.  I  hope  that  God  may 
bless  them  at  least  to  my  own  heart,  as  I  utter  them,  and 
may  add  his  blessing  upon  them  to  your  hearts,  as  you 
hear  them. 

The  first  question  which  arises  concerning  this  Gos- 
pel of  John  relates  to  the  peculiar  office  which  it  was 
intended  to  accomplish. 

It  comes,  you  observe,  after  three  preceding  lives  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  world ;  and  the  question  naturally 
arises,  "  Why  was  the  fourth  needed  ?"  What  does  it  do 
for  us  which  neither  of  the  others,  nor  all  the  others  com- 
bined, had  sufficiently  accomplished  i* — It  is  a  fair  ques- 
tion. It  meets  us  at  the  outset ;  and  we  ought  to  have 
an  answer,  reasonable  and  sufficient,  to  give  to  it.  The 
answer,  I  think,  is  not  hard  to  find. 

In  the  biographies  of  men  we  are  familiar  with  two 
forms  and  sorts  of  composition.  In  the  first  of  these,  the 
external  events  and  incidents  of  the  man's  life  are  narra- 
ted, often  faithfully  and  largely;  the  actions  which  he 
performed,  the  letters  which  he  wrote,  the  words  which 
he  spoke,  the  enterprises  which  he  planned/ and  the  gen- 
eral way  in  which  he  bore  himself  amid  the  great  crises 
of  danger,  or  suffering,  or  duty,  which  beset  him.  These 
are  narrated  in  order  that  from  them  we  may  infer  the 
character,  genius,  power  of  the  man  whose  life  in  its  ex- 
ternal particulars  is  thus  set  before  us.  And  such  narra- 
tives, in  proportion  as  they  faithfully  record  and  clearly 
present  the  circumstances,  the  actions,  and  the  words  of 
the  man,  enable  us,  reasoning  backward  from  these  par- 
ticulars, to  judge  of  the  genius  and  temper  of  the  man, 


6  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN, 

the  phenomena  of  whose  life  are  thus  set  before  us. 
From  the  phenomena  we  infer  the  personality,  which  is 
involved  in  them  ;  and  often,  thus,  we  gain  a  perfectly 
vivid  conception  of  the  spirit  of  the  man  through  the 
actions  and  the  words  which  are  full  of  significance. 

Of  course  we  have  innumerable  examples  of  this  kind 
of  biography.  Xenophon's  "  Memorabilia  "  sets  Socrates 
before  us  in  this  way.  Hildebrand,  Luther,  William  of 
Orange,  Washington,  have  been  shown  by  such  biogra- 
phies. Almost  every  eminent  man  in  the  world,  who  has 
had  large  power  or  borne  a  distinguished  part  in  affairs, 
has  been  presented  to  the  appreciation,  perhaps  to  the 
admiration,  perhaps  to  the  condemnation,  of  the  reading 
world,  by  those  who  have  thus  traced  his  career  and  illus- 
trated his  character. 

But  now  there  is  another  kind  of  biography,  in  which 
he  who  writes  it  seizes  at  the  outset,  as  by  a  vivid  spirit- 
ual intuition,  the  peculiar  force,  genius,  spirit,  of  the  man 
concerning  whom  he  is  to  write.  These  are  present  to 
the  writer  from  the  very  inception  of  his  work  ;  and  he 
simply  illustrates  them  in  the  particulars  which  he  after- 
wards recites,  conceFning  the  action  and  career  of  the 
man.  He  does  not  infer  the  personality  from  the  inci- 
dents of  that  career;  but,  having  all  that  was  peculiar  to 
the  man  clearly  before  him  at  'the  beginning,  he  inter- 
prets and  illuminates  by  that  the  subsequent  action,  the 
record  of  which  he  rapidly  makes.  This  is  the  highest 
class  in  biographical  writing — most  appreciated  by  the 
matured,  cultured,  and  sympathetic  reader.  We  feel  at 
once  that  such  would  have  been  the  life  of  Socrates,  if 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN,         7 

it  had  been  fully  written  by  Plato.  Any  life  so  written, 
of  Cicero,  Bernard,  Angelo,  Pascal,  permanently  enriches 
the  world.  It  is  in  this  way  that  Shakespeare  treats 
the  characters  which  he  sets  before  us.  He  develops 
them  from  within  outward ;  from  the  person  to  the  phe- 
nomena ;  from  the  internal  genius  and  character,  vividly 
apprehended,  and  continuously  carried  in  the  mind  of 
the  writer,  to  the  action  and  the  speech  in  which  that 
specific  genius  and  character  subsequently  reveal  them- 
selves. And  thus  it  is  that  he  holds  his  place  as  the 
first  dramatist  of  the  world ;  because,  having  seized  so 
distinctly,  and  held  so  decisively  in  mind,  the  spirit  which 
he  would  illustrate  to  the  world,  he  afterward  presents 
it  so  naturally — through  imaginary  incidents,  indeed,  but 
through  incidents  which  are  real  in  their  fitness  to  the 
character  which  they  are  contrived  and  constructed  to 
reveal.  Carlyle,  in  our  time,  has  this  power  to  a  remarks 
able,  almost  to  a  preeminent  degree ;  and  it  is  this  which 
makes  him  the  recognized  master  of  biographical  writing, 
in  spite  of  all  that  is  cumbrous,  unattractive,  perhaps 
repellent,  in  his  style.  You  see  it  where  he  traces  the 
career  of  Frederick  the  Great.  In  the  marvellous  portrait- 
ure of  his  character  and  life  which  Carlyle  has  given  to 
the  world,  he  has  seized  the  character  first,  and  the  genius 
of  the  man,  and  then  has  illuminated  the  subsequent 
particular  external  story  by  the  radiance  of  that  original 
conception  which  he  never  has  lost,  which  nothing  has 
ever  obscured  in  his  mind,  and  by  which  he  interprets 
whatever  he  subsequently  in  detail  narrates. 

There  are,  then,  these  two  classes  of  biographical 


8         THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

writing  :  the  first,  that  in  which  the  external  incidents  are 
related,  in  order  that  the  writer  may  work  back  through 
them  to  the  conception  of  the  character  and  the  power 
of  the  man  whose  life  he  is  to  describe ;  the  second,  that 
in  which  the  character  and  power  of  the  man,  perfectly, 
vividly  comprehended  by  the  writer,  are  made  subse- 
quently to  illuminate  whatever  his  pen  afterward  re- 
cords. And  we  should  expect,  I  think — certainly  we 
should  regard  it  as  desirable — that  when  a  Divine  Person 
comes  into  the  world,  if  it  be  possible  in  the  nature  of 
things,  both  of  these  classes  of  writings  should  be  com- 
bined in  the  narratives  which  present  him  to  the  honor, 
the  homage,  the  adoration  of  the  world.  We  must  hope 
that  there  will  be  this,  which  relates  the  familiar  acts, 
the  incidental  words,  the  apothegms,  the  gnomic  sen- 
tences, the  parables,  as  well  as  the  wondrous  works  of 
power,  and  through  which  we  are  carried  back  to  the 
conception  of  the  power  and  spirit  which  dwelt  and 
reigned  in  Him  who  is  thus  revealed  to  our  faith ;  and 
we  must  hope,  also,  if  it  be  possible,  by  the  constitution 
of  human  nature  and  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  there  will  be  at  least  one  writer  who  will 
seize  at  the  outset  the  unique,  the  supreme,  the  tran- 
scendent, the  Divine,  in  this  solitary  Person  thus  walking 
the  world  to  challenge  its  allegiance,  and  who  after- 
ward will,  simply  by  the  radiance  of  that  conception, 
illuminate  all  discourse,  emphasize  all  action,  interpret 
all  suffering,  and  gloriously  unfold  the  consummation 
and  the  end  of  the  life  thus  wondrous  in  nature  and  in 
scope.  -  ■   '  .  , 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.         9 

In  the  one  case  we  are  like  a  man  travelling  from 
the  frontier  toward  the  capital ;  in  the  other  case  we  are 
like  one  who  first  understands,  surveys,  masters  in 
thought,  the  imperial  capital,  and  then  from  that  point 
surveys  the  empire  in  which  it  is  central,  over  which  it  is 
dominant.  In  the  one  case  we  are  like  the  man  who  fol- 
lows a  campaign  in  its  successive  incidents,  of  battle, 
march,  and  apparent  defeat,  and  through  all  these  suc- 
cessive combinations  reasons  back  to  the  plan,  and  even 
to  the  genius,  of  the  general  commanding ;  in  the  other 
case  we  comprehend  the  genius  and  the  plan  at  the  out- 
set, and  in  the  light  of  this  foreknowledge  read  whatever 
subsequently  occurs.  In  the  one  case  we  go  from  moon 
and  planet  toward  the  sun  ;  in  the  other  case  we  stand 
in  the  sun  itself,  central  and  supreme,  and  from  it  survey 
the  entire  system  which  it  irradiates,  and  which  it  car- 
ries through  the  immense  ethereal  spaces, — which  takes 
from  it  all  light  and  beauty,  and  which  is  evermore  up- 
held and  controlled  by  its  unfailing  sovereign  energy. 

Both  these  classes  of  biographical  writing,  as  I  have 
said,  might  perhaps  have  been  expected— certainly  both 
might  have  been  desired — in  a  book  which  should  seek 
to  present  to  us  the  marvellous  story  of  a  Divine  Person 
coming  into  the  conditions  of  human  life,  subjecting  him- 
self to  the  limitations  of  our  weakness  and  frailty,  tarry- 
ing on  earth  through  the  term  of  a  mortal  life,  that  he 
might  lift  the  race  to  which  he  came  toward  God  and 
heaven !  And  both  these  sorts  of  biographical  writing 
we  find  in  the  New  Testament. 

We  have  first  the  early  oral  teachings  of  the  apos- 


lo        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JO  HIST. 

ties  concerning  the  Master — whom  they  had  so  long  ac- 
companied, whose  words  had  fallen  with  immense  im- 
pressiveness  upon  their  minds,  from  whom  they  had  fled, 
their  affection  and  their  allegiance  failing  at  the  critical 
moment,  yet  whom  they  reverenced,  trusted,  adored,  es- 
pecially after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  to 
whom  they  gave  the  service  of  their  life.  This  early 
oral  teaching  of  the  apostles  was  the  Gospel,  which  was 
proclaimed  by  them,  which  their  office  ordained  them  to 
proclaim,  as  eyewitnesses  of  the  things  which  they  had 
seen  and  heard,  and  which  afterward  they  were  to  report 
to  mankind.  This  was  the  Gospel  by  which  men  were  first 
to  be  addressed,  that  they  might  be  converted  to  Christ, 
and  made  the  believing  disciples  of  him,  under  the  quick- 
ening grace  of  God's  Spirit.  This  was  the  Gospel  in 
which  they  were  to  be  examined  afterward,  questioned 
and  catechized,  when  they  offered  themselves  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  church.  This  was  the  Gospel  by  which 
they  were  to  be  subsequently  instructed,  built  up  in  the 
faith,  and  through  which  they  were  always  to  be  pressed 
to  new  and  nobler  Christian  activity,  after  their  conver- 
sion and  their  personal  association  with  the  body  of  be- 
lievers. 

Now,  as  the  apostles  grew  older,  and  it  was  Increasing- 
ly evident  that,  in  the  multiplying  number  of  the  church- 
es, some  of  these  would  hardly  be  able  to  hear  at  all  the 
apostles'  voices,  and  that  sooner  or  later,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  they  must  pass  from  the  scene  of  their  ministry, 
it  was  a  natural  desire  of  the  churches — and  certainly 
not  less  a  desire  of  the  apostles,  a  movement  in  their 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        n 

minds  of  the  Spirit  of  God — that  there  should  be  carefully 
reduced  to  writing  these  narratives  which  they  had  given 
orally ;  that  these  might  remain,  permanently  instructing 
and  inspiring  to  good,  among  the  churches ;  that  copies 
of  them  might  be  multiplied,  and  circulated  more  widely ; 
that  there  might  be  no  possible  risk  of  that  interpolation, 
and  that  gradually  growing  misinterpretation,  which 
would  be  plainly  likely  to  occur  if  they  should  leave  the 
Gospel,  thus  taught  by  their  several  voices,  to  be  commu- 
nicated to  subsequent  times  simply  by  tradition.  So  that 
oral  proclamation  of  the  apostles,  concerning  Him  whom 
they  had  seen,  was  reduced  to  writing  by  three  evange- 
lists. By  Matthew,  who  was  himself  an  apostle,  and  a 
witness  of  the  things  which  he  recorded ;  who  writes 
with  many  personal  characteristics  appearing  in  his 
style ;  its  Hebraistic  peculiarities  showing  him  to  be  of 
the  Hebrew  descent ;  the  carefulness  of  his  method  indica- 
ting his  commercial  training  ;  collating  miracles  by  them- 
selves, and  parables  by  themselves  ;  arranging  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  subject,  rather  than  chronologically; 
and  who  writes  with  primary  reference,  evidently — as 
internal  and  external  proofs  conspire  to  teach  us — to  the 
dispersed  converted  Hebrews.  He  shows  how  the  Old 
Testament  was  continually  fulfilled  in  the  life,  the  action, 
and  the  sufferings  of  the  Divine  Person,  concerning  whom 
his  pen  is  reciting  what  before  his  lips  had  told. 

Then  Mark — not  an  apostle,  but  long  a  companion  of 
Peter,  and  perfectly  familiar  with  his  account  of  the  life 
of  the  Lord — writes  that  account  as  he  had  received  it ; 
writes,  according  to  the  earliest  testimony  which  remains 

10 


12        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

to  us  concerning  this  Gospel,  under  the  supervision  of 
Peter  himself,  and  under  his  direction.  He  gives  no 
genealogy  of  Jesus  ;  but  starts,  as  the  impetuous  apostle 
might  have  been  expected  to  start,  suddenly  launching 
forth  in  full  career  upon  the  wonderful  historical  action  of 
the  Lord  in  the  world.  He  writes,  apparently,  especially 
for  the  Romans.  He  writes  as  though  he  were  inditing  an 
answer  to  that  scornful  and  skeptical  question  of  Pilate, 
"  What  hast  thou  done  T — the  question  which  naturally 
arose  to  the  Roman  lip.  "No  matter  what  thou  hast 
thought  or  taught ;  that  is  a  mere  fancy  in  the  mind,  or 
a  mere  noise  in  the  air."  The  Roman  law  takes  cogni- 
zance of  character  only  as  revealed  in  action,  and  thus 
becoming  the  fit  subject  of  judicial  inquiry,  approval,  or 
punishment.  So,  "  What  hast  thou  done  i^"  Mark 
writes  as  if  to  answer  this  :  to  show  what  the  Son  of 
God,  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  clothed  upon 
with  power  from  heaven,  had  done  in  the  world.  His 
entire  Gospel  has,  apparently,  a  principal  reference  to 
the  Roman  world. 

Then  Luke,  long  a  companion  of  St.  Paul — possibly, 
though  not  probably,  one  of  the  seventy  disciples — of 
Greek  descent,  and  of  careful  Greek  culture — writes  his 
narrative,  to  set  forth  in  order  what  he  has  heard  from 
St.  Paul ;  what  he  has  gathered,  as  he  tells  us  himself, 
from  all  the  sources  to  which  he  has  had  access,  which 
could  furnish  him  the  authentic  information  of  eyewit- 
nesses, concerning  the  career  of  the  Lord  in  the  world. 
He  writes  with  great  care,  skill,  and  elegance.  His  per- 
sonal characteristics  appear  in  his  narrative  as  clearly  as 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        13 

those  of  Mark  and  Matthew  do  in  theirs.  He  writes  ev- 
idently for  the  Greek  converts  ;  that  they  may  share  the 
inestimable  benefits  of  which  the  Hebrew  and  Roman 
converts  were  assured  through  the  other  gospels,  and  may 
know  exactly  what  the  Lord,  whose  message  of  grace 
was  for  Greek  and  Jew,  had  done  and  said. 

Each  of  these,  you  observe,  writes  independently  of 
the  others ;  neither  having  seen,  apparently,  the  equiva- 
lent or  the  parallel  writing  of  either  of  the  others.  They 
write  in  substantial  agreement,  because  they  are  writing 
the  same  original  apostolic  story — the  story  of  Christ's 
work  upon  earth,  and  of  his  teachings,  as  the  apostles 
had  severally  heard  them.  They  write,  however,  for 
some  reason  to  us  unknown,  but  which  to  them  was  con- 
trolling and  imperative,  principally,  almost  wholly,  of  his 
ministry  in  Galilee,  and  of  his  last  visit  to  Jerusalem, 
with  the  discourses  which  he  there  uttered,  in  the  hear- 
ing of  the  Pharisees,  the  people,  and  his  disciples,  and  with 
the  significant  and  tremendous  particulars  of  his  death 
and  resurrection.  Except  so  far  as  that  last  visit  is  pic- 
tured in  their  narratives,  we  should  hardly  know  that  he 
had  made  any  journeys  to  Jerusalem,  or  had  accom- 
plished any  ministry  in  Judea.  Of  these  only  the  last 
Gospel  especially  informs  us.  Each  of  the  others  writes, 
as  I  have  said,  independently  of  the  rest ;  yet  all  write  in 
substantial  agreement,  though  with  incidental  differences 
and  superficial  diversities,  which,  as  plainly  as  anything 
else,  show  that  these  narratives  were  directed  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  They  attest  sincerity,  and  they  grapple 
attention.     To  these  three  harmonious  and  parallel  but 


14        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

diverse  records  the  attention  of  scholars  is  incessantly 
drawn  anew ;  and  the  labors  of  harmonists  in  reconcilino- 
their  apparent  differences,  and  in  bringing  into  one  con- 
tinuous narrative  these  three  stories  of  the  life  and  work 
and  words  of  the  Lord — these  have  been,  as  you  know, 
continuous  and  immense. 

One  characteristic  belongs  to  them  all.  In  each  we 
have  the  external  action ;  the  word  spoken  to  the  world 
at  large,  rather  than  to  the  disciples :  the  words  spoken 
concerning  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world,  with 
the  means  and  appliances  to  forward  it,  and  through 
its  extension  to  bless  mankind.  But  from  all  these  rec- 
ords we  are  led  constantly  backward  and  upward  to  the 
conception,  more  and  more  clearly  and  strongly  presented, 
of  the  power  and  the  spirit  of  Him  by  whom  the  words  were 
spoken,  and  by  whose  might  the  acts  were  performed. 

Turn  now  to  the  foui  th  Gospel,  and  you  see  at  once 
the  other  method  of  biographical  portraiture,  applied  by 
the  human  mind,  under  the  inspiration  and  instruction  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  to  the  representation  of  the  life  and 
person  of  this  mysterious  Son  of  God !  At  the  very 
beginning  we  are  confronted  by  that  which  is  transcen- 
dent, supreme,  unsearchable.  Divine,  in  the  person  and 
the  life  of  Him  whom  the  writer  would  present.  He 
traces  the  Lord's  genealogy,  not  to  Abraham,  not  to 
Adam,  but  to  the  eternity  of  God's  own  being ;  and  the 
subsequent  discourses,  and  the  sublime  actions,  are  in- 
tended to  set  forth  with  vivid  fidelity  the  amazing  truth 
contained  in  that  majestic  proem  with  which  the  book 
ppens.     They  are  the  illustrations  of  that  central,  domi- 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        15 

nant,  illuminating  fact,  which  breaks  upon  us  with  the 
first  writing  of  his  pen,  with  the  earliest  utterance  of  his 
intuitive  and  inspired  soul.  Everything  else  is  tributary 
to  this.  You  are  throned  in  the  sun,  and  are  looking 
forth  thence  upon  the  whole  system.  You  have  started  at 
the  capital,  and  are  traversing  the  country  which  that 
governs  and  crowns.  You  begin  at  the  centre  and  sum- 
mit of  the  story,  and  go  from  thence,  through  all  the 
crowded  and  radiant  gospel,  to  its  utmost  circumference. 

That  is  the  peculiar  office  which  this  Gospel  is  in- 
tended to  fulfil,  and  which  it  in  fact  marvellously  accom- 
plishes. The  aim  of  the  writer  is  to  present  this  holy, 
omnipotent,  eternal  Son  of  God,  in  that  which  he  said, 
in  that  which  he  did  :  nature  first,  action  afterward  ;  first 
the  mind,  then  the  utterance  which  revealed  it.  It  is  the 
grandest  aim,  as  I  said  before,  ever  conceived  by  the 
human  intelligence ;  an  aim  so  vast  that,  unless  you  rec- 
ognize not  only  the  genius,  or  the  character,  but  also 
the  special  inspiration  of  the  man,  his  folly  in  attempting 
it  will  be  most  obvious.  Ambition  so  daring,  unless  sus^ 
tained  by  divine  assistance,  must  shadow  all  his  claims 
on  human  attention.  The  folly  of  the  attempt  will  be. 
come  only  more  final,  and  more  fatal,  because  of  the 
absolutely  transcendent  character  of  the  unique  purpose 
which  he  has  in  view. 

So  we  come  to  observe  more  distinctly  the  man  him- 
self, to  whom  this  task  has  been  committed,  and  by  whom 
it  is  sought  to  be  accomplished.  But  concerning  him 
we  know  comparatively  little.  We  know  that  he  was  of 
the  middle  class  in  society — not  of  the  very  'poor,  not  of 


i6        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

the  very  rich.  We  know  that  he  was  by  human  relation- 
ship a  kinsman  of  the  Lord  ;  that  there  was  some  bond 
of  blood  between  them.  What  precisely  this  was,  it  is 
perhaps  not  possible  absolutely  to  affirm.  Probably  his 
mother  Salome  was  a  sister  of  Mary.  If  so,  he  was  of 
course,  on  the  human  side,  a  cousin  of  the  Lord ;  and 
that  relationship  would  have  led  him  naturally,  we  should 
suppose,  to  observe  and  magnify  the  human  side  of 
Christ's  life.  If  he,  standing  in  such  a  relationship  to 
the  Lord,  affirms  his  divinity,  and  shows  it  streaming 
into  and  everywhere  exalting  the  subsequent  record,  then 
that  affirmation  and  that  demonstration  are  emphasized 
by  the  fact  that  he  was  humanly  so  close  in  the  kinship 
of  him  concerning  whom  he  writes. 

But  the  temperament,  spirit,  and  genius  of  the  man  are 
the  things  we  must  especially  consider.  He  walks  before 
us  as  "a  veiled  figure,"  it  has  well  been  said,  throughout  his 
Gospel.  He  does  not  mention  his  own  name.  He  speaks 
of  himself  in  the  third  person,  whenever  he  has  occasion 
to  refer  to  himself  at  all ;  and  yet  his  words  so  throb  with 
the  beautiful  and  intense  vitality  of  his  spirit  that  we 
know  him  almost  as  if  the  whole  book  had  been  written 
about  himself,  as  if  there  had  been  exact  descriptions, 
detailed  accounts,  of  his  characteristics  as  revealed  in  his 
life.  A  meditative,  contemplative,  affectionate,  enthusi- 
astic, ideal  nature — this  is  evident  in  all  parts  of  the  Gos- 
pel. It  is  evident  especially  in  all  the  relations  which  he 
sustains  to  the  Master.  It  is  evident  in  his  Epistles,  and  in 
the  Apocalypse,  as  well  as  in  his  Gospel.  A  nature  en- 
dowed with  almost  feminine  intuitiveness ;  with  a  deli- 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        17 

cacy  of  insight  incomparable  among  men.  "A  virgin 
spirit "  he  has  been  called,  and  called  most  justly — pure, 
ethereal,  unseculaf,  reserved.  He  appears  indeed  a  Son 
of  Thunder — the  Master  thus  named  him  ;  but  this  de- 
scribes, not  boisterous  and  noisy  force,  but  the  intensity, 
the  moral  earnestness,  the  vivid  and  masterful  energy, 
which  were  in  him ;  the  affectionate  ardor,  the  devout  and 
adoring  fervor  of  spirit,  the  intense  and  consuming  en- 
thusiasm of  nature.  In  such  a  nature  the  sharpness  of 
moral  conception  and  judgment  is  perfect.  It  is  capa- 
ble of  the  most  profound  and  absorbing  excitement,  in 
which  is  involved  also  a  vast  power  over  others,  in  kin- 
dling and  quickening  their  hearts  with  ardor.  As  such 
a  person  the  Lord  describes  him ;  as  such  a  person  we 
always  see  him,  in  the  wondrous  and  inspiring  records  of 
this  book. 

Then  observe,  further,  his  special  relation  of  affection 
to  the  Master.  First,  he  is  one  of  many  disciples.  Then 
he  is  one  of  the  twelve  apostles.  Then  he  is  one  of  the 
three  disciples  with  the  Master  in  the  chamber  of  death, 
where  he  raises  the  dead  child  to  life.  He  is  one  of  the 
three  with  him  again  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration ; 
one  of  the  three  nearest  to  him,  amid  the  gloom  and 
agony  of  Gethsemane.  Then  he  is  the  one  of  all  the  dis- 
ciples who  leans  on  the  Master's  breast  at  the  supper ; 
the  one  to  whom  Lord  commends  his  mother  from  the 
awfulness  of  the  cross ;  the  one  to  whom  he  reveals  him- 
self later  in  the  final  Apocalypse,  from  amid  the  glory 
which  succeeds  the  ascension.  The  circle  constantly 
narrows ;  the  relation  becomes  more  intimate  and  pecu- 


i8        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

liar,  between  this  affectionate,  enthusiastic,  intuitive  apos- 
tle and  the  Master  whose  glory  he  discerns  ;  whose  glory 
he  is  afterward  to  portray  to  the  world  as  no  other  could. 
Out  of  this  affection,  pure,  tender,  supreme,  comes 
inspiration  to  every  faculty ;  comes  always  added  clear- 
ness of  insight  into  the  temper,  into  the  nature,  into  the 
essential  relations  to  the  universe,  of  Him  whom  he  loves. 
Compare  him  with  Matthew,  for  example,  or  with  James, 
or  even  with  Peter,  and  you  see  instantly  the  peculiar 
intimacy  between  his  mind  and  Christ's  mind.  You  see 
how  much  more  fully  the  Lord  was  revealed  to  him  than 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  He  could  be  revealed  to  a  less 
capacious,  less  sensitive  and  delicate  receptivity,  in  an- 
other. We  know  in  daily  experience  how  different  is  the 
very  faculty  of  seeing  among  men.  One  looks  upon  a 
picture,  and  marks  it  on  his  guide-book,  and  passes  on. 
Another  sees  in  it  the  gloom  and  agony  and  triumph  of 
Calvary,  painted  by  the  master's  hand  ;  or  sees  the  flush  of 
rapture  in  the  martyr's  face,  as  Agnes  or  Perpetua  looks 
up  into  the  heavens  whose  radiance  is  opening  wide 
above  them.  One  man  sees  nothing  on  the  canvas  but 
the  reproduced  lines  of  hills  and  valleys,  such  as  he  has 
seen  in  nature  a  hundred  times ;  another  in  the  same 
picture  sees  the  scene  of  great  historic  events,  where 
Charlemagne  conquered,  Columbus  landed,  or  Titian  was 
born.  To  him  a  spell  and  charm  are  in  all  the  lines  to 
which  the  other  is  wholly  blind.  So  St.  John,  with  this 
intense,  intuitive,  ethereal  nature,  saw  more  in  Christ,  when 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  purified,  had  almost  transfigured 
that  nature,  than  any  other  of  the  disciples,  even  stand- 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        19 

ing  in  the  same  external  relations,  could  possibly  have  seen. 
The  intimacy  became  closer,  the  fellowship  sweeter,  the 
inward  revelation  of  Christ  more  perfect,  the  longer  the 
interactions  of  their  minds  upon  each  other  continued  in 
the  world. 

Observe,  too,  the  peculiar  opportunity  which  John 
had  for  the  most  perfect  knowledge  of  Christ,  through  his 
subsequent  companionship  with  Mary,  the  revered  moth- 
er of  the  Lord.  No  commentator,  so  far  as  I  remember, 
has  dwelt  upon  this  point,  as  especially  arresting  his  at- 
tention, and  as  illustrating  the  hidden  and  peculiar  riches 
of  this  Gospel.  Perhaps  some  have  done  so,  but  I  do  not 
recall  it.  Yet  there  is  great  significance  in  it.  It  was 
with  John,  after  the  death  of  Jesus,  that  Mary  tarried, 
you  remember.  Has  it  occurred  to  you  that  her  moth- 
er's heart  must  have  known  more,  in  some  respects,  of 
that  wondrous  Son  than  any  other  human  heart }  that 
there  were  facts  connected  with  his  coming  into  life  upon 
the  earth  of  which  she  alone  was  conscious,  of  which 
others  could  only  have  heard  1  that  there  must  have  been 
inward  recognitions  of  the  Divine  in  him  on  her  part 
which  almost  superseded  the  necessity  of  outward  reve- 
lation }  which  illuminated  facts,  emphasized  discourses, 
and  gave  a  certain  transfiguring  glory  to  all  the  common 
life  of  the  Lord  t  Yet  she  has  said  nothing  concerning 
it  to  the  world,  except  as  she  has  spoken  through  Luke 
and  through  John.  Unquestionably  Luke  must  have 
got  from  her  much  of  that  which  he  reports,  so  particu- 
larly and  so  fully,  in  the  first  two  chapters  of  his  Gos- 
pel.    Unquestionably,  I  think,  John  also  got  much  from 


20        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

her,  in  the  long  hours  of  reverent  conversation  which  fol- 
lowed the  ascension  of  Christ  from  the  earth,  when 
Mary  and  her  young  nephew — if  nephew  he  were — were 
talking  together  of  Him  whom  they  both  supremely 
adored.  And  it  is  to  me  a  beautiful  thought  that  the 
mother's  heart  speaks  to  us  in  this  Gospel,  which  has 
been  referred  to  so  justly  in  the  words  of  the  prayer,  as 
"  the  heart  of  Christ  revealed  to  the  world." 

It  was  not  the  intrepid  dialectics  of  Paul,  or  his  sov- 
ereign submission ;  it  was  not  the  rugged  fidelity  of 
Peter,  or  the  clear  ethical  convictions  of  James ;  it  was 
the  sympathetic  tenderness  and  the  illuminating  affection 
of  the  mother's  heart — who  had  followed  that  divine  Son 
from  birth  to  death,  and  after  death  had  seen  him  going 
up  into  the  heavens,  with  his  hands  lifted  in  benediction 
until  the  cloud  received  him  out  of  her  sight — it  was 
this  which  largely,  instrumentally,  I  think,  interpreted 
to  John  the  mystery  of  grace  and  glory  in  Christ.  He 
was  sure  of  the  Incarnation ;  and  he  made  it  the  key- 
word of  his  Gospel :  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word  ; 

and  the  Word  was  with  God  ;  and  the  Word  was  God 

And  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us ; 
and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only-begotten 
of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

Observe,  too,  how  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
operated  constantly,  though  silently,  upon  this  enthusi- 
astic, ideal,  intuitive  nature,  purified  by  grace,  instructed 
by  affectionate  intercourse  with  the  Master,  and  by  pro- 
longed subsequent  converse  with  His  mother;  how  it 
recalled  to  him  what  otherwise  might  have  faded,  and 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN.        21 

interpreted  to  him  what  otherwise  might  have  been  ob- 
scure ;  how  it  refreshed,  exalted,  augmented  every  power, 
and  made  him  competent,  if  ever  man  was  competent 
or  could  be,  to  write  the  amplest  Life  of  the  Master,  on 
the  plan  which  I  have  indicated — beginning  with  his 
divinity,  and  from  that  summit-fact  illuminating  every- 
thing ;  not  beginning  with  the  external  work,  and  from 
this  ascending  towards  the  ultimate  sovereign  conception 
of  its  author ! 

So  qualified  in  himself,  so  blessed  in  abundant  oppor- 
tunity of  knowledge,  so  quickened  by  the  Spirit,  in  his 
old  age,  after  the  others  had  written  their  records,  but 
while  everything  is  yet  vivid  before  him,  he  writes  this 
Gospel,  spreading  out  as  in  a  panorama  before  us  his 
whole  recollection  of  the  Lord  and  of  His  work.  He 
tells  us  when  he  first  met  the  Lord,  at  that  most  critical 
moment  in  his  life ;  he  remembers  that  "  it  was  about 
the  tenth  hour;"  he  remembers  just  how  high  the  sun 
was  above  the  Mediterranean  ;  the  very  aspect  of  the 
Jordan  valley  is  vividly  before  him.  He  recalls  the  words 
of  Christ,  reasoning  with  the  Jews  on  the  temple  floor. 
He  sees  again  their  bitter  hatred,  hears  their  contemjo- 
tuous  replies,  sees  their  sour  faces  ;  and  the  chill  of 
the  wind  still  smites  him,  as  he  says  "It  was  winter." 
The  very  blast  is  on  his  cheek  as  he  pens  the  word.  He 
feels  again  the  icy  sharpness  of  that  cold  hour,  corre- 
sponding to  the  sullen  chill  in  the  skeptical  temper  of 
those  around  Christ.  He  speaks  of  Judas,  and  we  see 
the  sign  by  which  Judas  is  disclosed  and  made  known  as 
the  traitor.    Judas  rises  and  goes  out,  and  John  says,  "  It 


22        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

was  night."  What  a  picture  has  he  sketched  in  this  sin- 
gle line  !  John  was  reclining,  I  suppose,  with  his  Master, 
next  to  him  ;  Peter  was  perhaps  at  the  end  of  the  table  ; 
and  Judas,  perhaps,  opposite  to  John ;  and  as  Judas  went 
out,  having  received  the  morsel  of  bread  which  was  the 
sacrament  of  brotherhood,  when  the  door  swung  open 
into  the  windy  inner  court,  John,  following  him  with  his 
eye,  sees  the  darkness,  hears  the  gust,  and  he  writes  it  all 
in  that  one  word,  "  It  was  night."  He  went  into  the 
night,  prophetic  of  the  darker,  denser,  eternal  night 
which  lay  beyond  ! 

So  vivid  is  his  recollection,  even  in  old  age,  because 
of  his  affection,  because  of  his  intuition  of  the  glory  of 
Christ,  because  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  which  is 
upon  him.  In  the  evening  of  his  life,  having  often  talked 
of  these  things  with  his  disciples,  he  writes  the  narrative 
out  in  full,  that  this  Divine  Person  whom  he  had  known 
may  ba  set  forth  before  the  world : — the  grandest  work 
ever  committed  to  a  man  ;  committed  to  the  chiefest  of  the 
apostles  in  fitness  for  it ;  the  last  work  of  his  life,  it  is 
supposed ;  and  certainly  the  greatest  work  that  the  human 
mind  has  ever  imagined,  has  ever  attempted  to  achieve. 

Then  observe,  in  the  light  of  this  office  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  of  the  man  to  whom  that  office  is  intrusted,  the 
method  which  the  Gospel  followed.  It  differs  essentially 
from  the  method  pursued  in  the  preceding  narratives, 
which  treat  principally  of  the  ministry  in  Galilee,  of  the 
external  actions,  and  of  the  teachings  of  Christ  to  the 
world  at  large  concerning  his  kingdom.  This  Gospel 
starts,  as  I  have  said,  with  the  Divine,  eternal  genealogy 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORVIiXG  TO  yOHN.        23 

of  Christ.  Then  it  represents  his  Divine  mind  in  his 
discourses  —  discourses  uttered  not  to  the  world,  so 
much  as  to  the  chosen  circle  of  his  disciples — discour- 
ses, not  concerning  his  kingdom  in  the  world,  of  which 
the  other  disciples  have  chiefly  written,  but  concerning 
his  own  attributes,  his  own  nature,  his  relations  to  the 
Father,  his  plans  and  purposes  for  mankind.  John  un- 
dertakes to  give  these  to  his  readers  ;  illuminating  them 
all  with  the  light  of  that  supreme  conception  with  which 
he  starts — the  absolute  union  of  the  Lord  with  God  in 
the  essential  deity  of  his  person.  Not  merely  thus  does 
he  set  forth  the  mind  of  Christ ;  he  sets  forth  also  his 
spirit  and  character,  his  Divine  temper  of  self-sacrifice — 
that  supremest  thing  in  God  of  which  there  is  no  other 
revelation  in  all  the  universe  known  to  us  !  It  implies  no 
self-sacrifice  on  the  part  of  God  to  carry  the  planets  for 
ever  forward,  in  their  musical  order,  or  to  set  the  suns  on 
their  poise  in  the  heavens.  It  implies  no  self-sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  God  to  carry  the  world  on  its  path  through 
the  heavens,  from  age  to  age  ;  to  adjust  the  rhythmic  and 
melodious  motions  of  those  mighty  masses  with  which 
the  earth  is  related.  It  is  the  joy  of  God — so  far  as  that 
joy  springs  from  anything  material — to  uphold  and  con- 
trol the  mighty  universe  which  He  has  built.  It  involves 
no  self-sacrifice  in  yonder  organist  when  he  loosens  into 
the  air  the  mighty  harmonies  and  the  cadenced  melodies 
with  which  the  instrument  is  instinct,  by  the  touch  of  a 
key.  It  involves  no  self-sacrifice  to  the  poet  when  he 
utters,  in  his  melodious  numbers,  the  thoughts  and  fancies 
which  fill  his  soul    And  there  is  no  self-sacrifice  to  God 

n 


24        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

in  sprinkling  the  sod  with  summer  blooms,  or  making  the 
autumn  orchards  rich  with  ripened  fruit,  in  bending  his 
bow  upon  the  clouds,  or  piling  beauty  and  wealth  upon 
the  world.  The  only  revelation  of  self-sacrifice  in  God 
is  that  which  is  made  in  Christ  his  Son,  through  whom 
His  heart  is  declared  to  the  world.  That  is  part  of  John's 
conception  of  God  in  Christ ;  and  he  writes  to  show  how 
that  self-sacrifice  wrought  itself  into  transcendent  exhi- 
bition, in  his  long  patience,  his  suffering,  and  his  death. 
God's  Son  was  to  be  glorified  ;  that  was  a  part  of  the  in- 
finite counsel.  But  His  glorification  was  not  at  all  to  be 
on  a  throne,  lifted  up,  in  sight  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  not 
to  be  in  his  suddenly  descending  from  the  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  as  the  tempter  had  suggested  that  he  should, 
with  a  legion  of  angels  for  his  attending  acclaiming  co- 
horts. His  glory  was  to  be  realized  in  this :  that  while 
he  had  power  to  sweep  Pilate,  v/ith  all  his  legionaries,  into 
the  Mediterranean  sea — power,  when  the  officers  came  to 
take  him,  not  merely  to  beat  them  to  the  earth  by  a 
glance  of  his  eye,  but  to  pin  them  there  forever,  if  he 
chose,  till  their  dry  ashes  mingled  with  the  dust — he 
yielded  his  mighty  and  omnipotent  hands  to  the  binding 
fetters ;  he  allowed  them  to  be  transfixed  with  nails,  and 
fastened  to  the  cross;  he  permitted  himself  to  be  crowned 
with  the  acanthine  crown,  on  the  brow  where  now  are 
many  diadems !  He  was  glorified  in  dying,  because  he 
died  the  Sinless  for  the  sinful,  the  Lord  of  the  earth  for 
the  redemption  of  mankind. 

That  is  the  burden,  that  is  the  consummation,  that  is 
the  supremest  lesson,  of  the  Gospel  of  John !     Starting 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        25 

with  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  flashing  back  thenceforth 
each  Divine  discourse  from  the  mirror  of  his  serene  con- 
templation and  his  clear  recollection,  rehearsing  the  ever- 
memorable  works  in  which  the  kingly  mind  in  Christ 
was  illustriously  revealed,  he  shows  us  as  well  the  celes- 
tial spirit,  the  unimagined  Divine  temper,  most  fully 
shown,  most  gloriously  crowned,  when  dying  for  His  ene- 
mies ;  dying  beneath  Jewish  malice,  and  Roman  coward- 
ice ;  dying  for  the  world  which  hated  and  killed  Him  ! 
Only  a  nature  like  that  of  John,  related  to  Christ  so  inti- 
mately as  he  was,  taught  by  Christ's  mother  as  he  had 
been,  inspired  of  the  Spirit  as  he  certainly  was,  could 
have  given  that  amazing  conception  of  Christ : — which 
has  lifted  the  race,  and  brought  the  heavens  nearer  the 
earth,  as  he  has  wrought  it  out  in  the  manifold  illustra- 
tions which  crowd  his  record. 

Herein  he  indicates  the  whole  plan  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, and  the  universality  of  that  kingdom  in  the  earth. 
*'  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  How  touching  it  is  that  the  next  words 
he  puts  into  a  parenthetical  form,  as  if  to  show  that  he 
did  not  feel  himself  to  have  wholly  understood  them  at 
the  time  !  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me."  John  no  doubt  thought,  when  he 
heard  the  words,  that  what  Christ  meant  was :  "  If  I  be 
lifted  up  in  some  illustrious  transfiguration,  over  the  tem- 
ple and  the  city ;"  "  If  I  be  lifted  up  as  on  the  wings  of 
sustaining  angels  :"  and  so  he  adds  afterward,  when  he 
came  to  a  better  and  deeper  understanding  of  the  say- 
ing, "  This  he  said,  signifying  by  what  death  he  should 


26        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

die."  It  was  to  be  the  lifting  up  on  the  cross  which  at 
last  should  draw  the  world  unto  himself !  This  is  John's 
conception  of  Christ ;  this  his  manifestation  of  His  glory, 
transcendent  in  the  world  ;  this  his  foresight  of  that  uni- 
versal kingdom  on  earth,  in  which  He  is  at  last  to  reign, 
the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  The  Apocalypse 
itself  only  answers  thus  to  the  sovereign  idea  of  John's 
Gospel.  If  the  Apocalypse  were  written  before  the  Gos- 
pel, then  it  interprets  some  things  which  are  otherwise 
obscure  in  the  history  of  this  book.  But  whether  writ- 
ten before  or  after,  it  only  carries  out,  in  that  vivid,  tumultu- 
ous, panoramic  exhibition,  as  of  a  supernal  drama,  the  same 
idea  which  John  elsewhere  more  simply  develops,  of  the 
universal  kingdom  of  the  Lord  on  the  earth.  It  is  there 
shown  coming  to  its  final  supremacy,  over  the  stress  of 
human  resistance,  and  through  terrific  clash  of  conflict, 
by  instrumentalities  which  God  in  his  providence  raises 
up,  but  coming  at  last  to  the  same  complete  and  final 
supremacy  which  is  all  put  before  us  when  we  read  these 
words  of  Christ  himself,  recorded  by  his  affectionate 
scholar,  '  I  will  draw  at  last  all  men  to  me  1' 

It  is  a  beautiful  thought,  too,  concerning  this  Gospel, 
in  its  connection  with  the  Apocalypse,  that  the  first  im- 
pression ever  made  on  the  mind  of  John  concerning  Je- 
sus was  made  by  that  which  was  spoken  at  the  outset  by 
John  the  Baptist :  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !"  It  shows 
the  tenacity  of  the  memory  which  lost  nothing;  it  shows 
the  spiritual  perfection  of  view  which  interpreted  every- 
thing,— that  this  title  of  Christ  recurs  continually  in  the 
Apocalypse.    It  links  that  book  with  the  first  impression 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.       27 

which  John  ever  received  of  Jesus.  The  vision  of  the 
royal  Conqueror  is  before  him,  of  the  mighty  King,  of  Him 
whose  face  shines  as  the  sun,  who  is  girt  about  with  the 
golden  girdle,  who  marches  at  the  head  of  the  armies  of 
God,  leading  them  to  victory  ;  and  yet,  "  I  beheld,  and  lo, 
in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  a  Lamb,  as  it  had  been  slain  !" 
From  the  first  moment  of  his  incipient  discipleship  to 
the  last  ecstasy  of  the  final  Apocalypse,  was  John  filled 
with  this  image  of  the  Lamb — of  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  for  the  sin  of  the  world !  Perea  and  Paradise  are 
inseparably  linked  by  it. 

This  is  the  method  of  John's  Gospel.  It  is  the  one 
which  in  large  measure  supplements  the  others.  It  has 
sometimes  been  spoken  of,  therefore,  as  the  supplementary 
Gospel.  In  some  sense  it  is  such  ;  not  as  filling  out  the 
tracings  of  their  previous  delineation,  or  adding  other 
particulars  of  the  same  kind  which  they  had  narrated  ; 
but  as  presenting,  as  I  have  said,  the  ministry  in  Judea 
more  thoroughly  than  they  had  done — developing  freely 
what  the  others  had  touched  upon  lightly — and  espe- 
cially as  giving  us  the  profounder  discourses,  under  the 
higher  and  clearer  illumination  of  that  supreme  concep- 
tion of  Christ  which  John  had  at  the  outset,  and  which 
irradiates  all  his  writing.  So  it  is  an  ever-unfolding  Gos- 
pel,  and  will  be  such  to  the  end  of  time.  When  we  have 
searched  the  heavens  through,  and  counted  and  weighed 
each  star  in  its  orbit ;  when  we  have  reduced  those  lumi- 
nous films  of  celestial  light  to  the  islands  in  the  universe 
which  they  undoubtedly  are ;  when  we  know  all  the  au- 
gust and  solemn  mysteries  of  the  heavens,  in  their  order 

II* 


28        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN. 

and  brightness,  their  secret  harmonies  and  their  im- 
mense outreach,  beyond  our  thought, — even  then  we  shall 
not  know  God  to  perfection,  in  the  majesty  and  the  beau- 
ty of  his  mind  and  his  will ;  and  until  we  know  Him,  as 
manifest  in  Christ,  we  shall  not  fully  have  apprehended 
the  meanings,  have  comprehended  the  ideas,  have  search- 
ed and  sounded  the  spiritual  facts  and  spaces  in  their 
immeasurable  depths,  which  are  infolded  in  this  divi- 
nest  of  the  Gospels,  this  luminous  and  transcendent  book 
of  the  Word ! 

Finally  we  must  face  this  question,  and  give  if  we 
can  the  answer  to  it — a  question  which  meets  us  often  : 
Why  was  this  book  so  late  in  appearing  ?  and  what  was 
at  last  the  immediate  motive  in  which  it  originated  ? 

Evidently  it  tarried  long,  imbedded  vitally  in  the 
consciousness  of  St.  John,  but  not  written  out  by  him 
until  that  comparatively  late  period  in  his  ministry  when 
he  put  it  into  this  full  and  wonderful  expression.  Really, 
therefore,  the  question  concerning  this  book,  which  is 
urged  so  often  by  skeptical  writers  on  the  battlefield  of 
debate  in  the  Biblical  controversy  of  this  century,  is  this : 
Why  did  not  John  write  his  Gospel  earlier  .'*  Why  did 
he  delay  it  so  long  t  To  this  question  it  is  not  perhaps 
possible  for  us  to  give  an  answer  wholly  satisfactory. 
We  do  not  know  why.  Any  answer  must  be  largely 
conjectural.  It  is  one  of  those  matters  concerning  which, 
after  so  many  centuries  have  passed,  it  is  almost  idle  to 
inquire.  By-and-by,  perhaps,  when  we  meet  him  in  the 
heavens,  we  may  learn  directly  from  him  whether  the 
Christian  consciousness  of  the  churches  was  not  suffi- 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN.       29 

ciently  advanced  to  receive  it  at  an  earlier  stage,  or  what 
other  influence  it  was  which  detained  him  from  writino- 
But  the  motive  for  ultimately  writing  the  marvellous 
book  is  easy  to  comprehend. 

He  did  not  write  it  in  order  to  fill  out  the  synoptical 
outline  of  the  earlier  evangelists,  supplying  similar  par- 
ticulars which  they  had  failed  to  narrate,  and  completing 
the  early  teachings  of  the  apostles  by  adding  other  de- 
tails of  the  ministry  in  Galilee.  He  wrote  to  supple- 
ment the  preceding  gospels  in  a  different  and  a  higher 
sense.  He  wrote  from  an  independent  and  supreme 
point  of  view,  in  an  original  method.  There  must  have 
been  the  continual  motive  in  his  mind,  which  is  in  the 
mind  of  any  man  who  has  a  great  truth,  known  to  him- 
self but  unknown  to  others,  which  it  is  for  their  profit 
and  welfare  to  know,  and  which  he  can  communicate. 
An  affectionate  and  enthusiastic  nature  like  John's,  rev- 
erent, adoring,  wholly  consecrated  to  Christ,  must  have 
been  moved  all  the  time  to  utter  to  others  those  things 
which  he  knew  and  had  seen  concerning  this  Divine 
Lord.  Then  there  was,  added  to  this,  that  practical  mo- 
tive which  he  himself  indicates  in  the  thirty-first  verse  of 
the  twentieth  chapter,  where  he  says,  "  These  things  are 
written  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God ;  and  that,  believing,  ye  might  have  life 
through  his  name." 

That  is  reason  enough  for  his  writing  at  any  time ; 
while  the  special  reason  for  his  writing  at  a  period  so  late 
may  possibly  be  found  in  the  fact  that  there  was  then  a 
comparatively  rich  maturity  of  Christian  knowledge  and 


30        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN. 

spiritual  experience  among  the  churches,  which  had  been 
wanting  in  the  earlier  time.  The  first  converts  had 
been  suddenly  brought  out  of  Judaism  and  heathenism, 
into  the  knowledge  and  faith  of  Christ,  and  into  a  per- 
sonal consecration  to  him.  All  their  conceptions  of 
truth  were  crude  ;  their  chief  thought  concerning  Christ 
contemplated  him  as  a  governing  Master.  Into  the 
mysteries  of  his  life  and  love,  of  his  esoteric  teaching, 
of  his  stupendous  redemption,  they  hardly  could  enter. 

In  the  last  ten  years  of  that  first  century,  in  the  time 
when  John  wrote  this  Gospel,  there  were  many  Chris- 
tians who  had  been  born  and  trained  in  Christian  house- 
holds ;  who  had  had,  one  may  say,  a  hereditary  Chris- 
tian experience  behind  them;  who  had  not  been  born 
heathen  or  Jews,  but  had  been  taught,  from  the  earliest 
unfolding  of  consciousness,  the  truths  and  precepts  and 
the  promises  of  the  New  Testament.  To  such  a  com- 
parative maturity  of  Christian  knowledge,  and  of  spirit- 
ual experience,  this  Gospel  is  addressed.  It  presupposes 
a  fruitful  preceding  moral  culture.  It  is  not  apt  to  rude 
beginners  in  the  Divine  service.  The  missionary  now 
may  reach  the  heathen  better  and  more  directly  through 
the  narratives  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  than  through 
the  sublimer  record  of  John.  It  is  after  a  man  has  been 
converted,  has  been  trained  and  disciplined  by  teaching 
and  by  suffering,  after  his  children  have  come  to  read 
and  love  the  New  Testament,  and  the  spirit  of  it  has 
moulded  the  life  of  the  household — it  is  then  that  the 
great,  incomparable  truths  of  the  Gospel  of  John  will  be 
most  amply  and  familiarly  opened  to  the  soul. 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN,       31 

So  in  the  gradual  development  of  the  church  at  Eph- 
esus — which  was  half  an  Oriental,  and  half  an  Occidental 
city — where  magic  and  heathenism  confronted  fiercely 
the  rising  power  of  Christian  consecration  and  apostolic 
instruction — it  had  come  to  pass,  in  the  old  age  of  John, 
that  there  were  many  for  whom  the  magic  had  utterly 
ceased  to  have  charm  or  power ;  over  whom  superstition 
exerted  no  influence,  and  to  whom  an  idol  had  never 
been  anything  but  a  dead  image,  of  brass  or  of  wood. 
They  had  been  taught,  from  their  earliest  recollection,  in 
the  new  and  Divine  dispensation  of  religion,  had  always 
walked  in  the  prospect  of  the  unending  Future !  They 
were  ready,  therefore,  to  hear  what  John  now  said,  at 
first  with  his  lips,  and  afterwards  with  his  pen.  The 
plate  was  prepared  for  the  impression  of  all  his  words  to 
be  stamped  upon  it,  in  the  clear  radiance  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness.  Their  souls  could  now  contain  the  truth 
which,  fresh  from  idolatries,  they  could  not  before  have 
mastered  or  have  held. 

Then  there  were  special  crises  arising,  calling  for  just 
this  exhibition  of  the  truth,  which  had  lain  imbedded  in  the 
consciousness  of  John,  while  Paul  was  writing,  journey- 
ing, and  founding  churches,  while  Peter  was  contending 
valiantly  for  the  faith,  and  was  being  crucified  with  his 
head  downward.  A  controlling  design  appears  in  the 
writing  of  each  of  the  apostles.  John's  Gospel  certainly 
is  not  wanting  in  it.  He  knew  the  very  ultimate  truth 
ever  revealed  to  the  human  mind  concerning  Christ.  He 
had  spoken  of  it,  no  doubt,  to  his  friends,  but  it  had  not 
yet  been  committed  to  documents.     Now  was  the  time, 


32        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN. 

without  the  church  as  well  as  within  it,  for  that  to  be 
done.  Differences  were  arising,  which  had  begun  to  ap- 
pear in  Paul's  time,  and  questions  were  being  asked  :  as 
to  the  authority  of  the  apostles,  and  the  certainty  of  their 
knowledge  concerning  the  reality  and  the  nature  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ;  a  question  as  to  why  it  was  that 
Christ  had  been  rejected  of  his  own  nation  ;  a  question  as 
to  why  it  was  that  Christ,  if  Divine,  had  submitted  him- 
self to  the  strange  endurance  of  anguish  and  of  death.  On 
the  one  hand,  the  Ebionites  maintained  that  he  was  not 
Divine  in  any  essential  eternal  sense ;  that  he  had  been 
only  a  just,  benevolent,  highly-gifted,  noble-minded  Jew, 
who  had  been  taken  as  the  Messiah  by  those  who  believed 
him  because  of  these  excellent  characteristics,  and  be- 
cause of  the  spiritual  influence  which  they  gave.  That 
conception  of  the  Lord  was  to  be  answered  and  displaced. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Docetse  affirmed  that  Christ's 
humanity  had  not  been  real.  While  the  Ebionite  denied 
his  divinity,  these  differing  doubters  held  that  his  human- 
ity had  not  been  actual  and  true  ;  because  they  held,  with 
other  Gnostics,  that  matter  was  essentially  and  eternally 
evil.  Either,  then,  what  appeared  the  body  of  Christ 
had  not  been  his  body,  but  one  which  he  phantasmally 
assumed,  without  taking  it  for  the  true  garment  of  his 
soul,  or  else  it  had  been  of  an  ethereal  substance,  not 
of  the  earthly  material  which  men  thought  that  they 
saw.  It  was  either  a  fiction  altogether,  or  it  was  a  cheat- 
ing appearance.  This  doctrine  was  active  against  the 
church  on  every  side,  and  even  was  widening  within  it. 
Other  errors,  as  well,  were  springing  up,  out  of  that 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.       Z2> 

mysterious  Gnosticism,  that  malignant  compound  of  poly- 
theism, pantheism,  monotheism,  materialism,  mysticism, 
and  the  wildest  demonology.  The  fiercest  and  haughtiest 
enemy  which  Christianity  has  met  was  this  organized, 
many-sided,  aristocratic,  licentious  heresy.  It  seriously 
tried,  and  it  hopefully  expected,  to  drive  the  Gospel  from 
the  earth.  John  does  not  antagonize  it  by  argument.  He 
simply  supersedes  it,  rules  it  out  of  the  sphere  of  thought, 
in  his  disciples.  He  crushes  it  to  powder,  and  scatters 
it  on  all  the  winds,  by  setting  forth  in  contrast  with  it  the 
true  doctrine  of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh :  the  Eternal 
Word,  creating  at  the  outset  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
and  in  the  fulness  of  time  becoming  Brother,  Redeemer, 
and  King  of  men  ! 

So  heresy  always  brings  out  the  truth.  So  the  doc- 
trine of  meritorious  works  in  the  Roman  church,  with 
the  doctrine  of  a  purchasable  indulgence  for  sin,  however 
flagrant  the  sin  might  be,  brought  out  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  which  was  thundered  through  the 
world  in  such  articulate  trumpet-tones  by  the  early  re- 
formers. It  was  preached  with  an  earnestness — it  had  a 
vivid  and  vehement  development — which  it  could  not 
have  had  except  for  that  heresy  which  confronted  and 
aroused,  in  a  sense  determined  it.  So  the  law  of  true 
Christian  perfection  is  revealed  when  Antinomianism 
assails  the  church.  So  the  proper  Divinity  of  our 
Lord,  and  the  efiicacy  of  his  atoning  death  as  the  condi- 
tion of  man's  salvation,  are  proclaimed  the  more  earnestly 
when  the  doctrine  which  denies  his  Divinity  and  his  sac- 
rifice, and  which  makes  Him  only  a  beautiful  example,  finds 


34        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN. 

currency  in  periodicals,  and  in  the  common  speech  of 
men.  So  the  doctrine  of  Retribution,  final  and  inevita- 
ble, continuing  as  long  as  sin  continues,  is  to  be  more 
distinctly  developed,  more  earnestly  and  more  impres- 
sively preached,  because  men  are  daring  enough  to  set 
th*eir  minds  against  the  sovereign  mind  of  Christ,  and  to 
affirm  that  he  spoke  rashly,  and  did  not  know  what  he 
was  saying  when  he  said,  "  These  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

Always,  heresy  brings  the  truth  to  more  vivid  exhibi- 
tion. And  these  heresies,  then,  arising  around  Ephesus, 
and  around  all  the  churches  which  John  supervised, 
brought  out  at  length,  from  his  enlightened  and  certain 
consciousness,  this  consummate  and  illustrious  doctrine 
of  Christ :  his  divinity,  his  eternity,  his  oneness  with  God, 
his  oneness  with  man,  the  wisdom  of  his  discourse,  the 
glory  of  his  spirit  in  his  supreme  sacrifice,  and  the  uni- 
versality of  his  kingdom  in  the  earth  !  It  was  an  original, 
self-moulded  Gospel,  inspired  by  the  Spirit,  but  depend- 
ent on  no  other.  John  may  never  even  have  seen  the 
writing  of  any  other  of  the  evangelists.  What  he  wrote 
came  from  his  own  mind  ;  it  came  with  a  gush.  It  is  the 
most  profoundly  individual  book,  one  may  say,  in  all  the 
Scripture.  It  is  "like  the  seamless  garment  of  the  Lord," 
one  has  said,  so  thoroughly  interwoven,  so  glistening 
with  celestial  gold.  I  should  rather  say  it  is  like  the 
sudden  gush  of  the  gold,  long  fused  and  simmering  in 
the  furnace,  until  all  dross  has  vanished  from  it,  and  all 
impurity  has  been  cleansed  away — which  at  last,  when 
the  door  is  opened,  rushes  forth,  glowing,  incandescent. 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.       35 

streaming  with  light,  and  precious  beyond  estimate  or 
compare  !  So  came  the  Gospel  from  the  heart  which  had 
held  it  so  intimately  and  long,  and  which  spoke  it  at  last, 
to  be  thenceforth  the  inestimable  possession  of  the  world 
for  ever ! 

One  cannot  but  wonder  and  admire,  as  he  comes  to 
the  end  of  this  train  of  thought,  at  the  immense  diversity 
of  gifts  which  God  employs  in  his  ministry  to  the  world ! 
I  think  of  Peter,  resolute,  tough,  fearless  against  resist- 
ance, zealous  and  courageous,  though  far  enough  cer- 
tainly from  perfection,  at  last  asking  as  a  favor,  tradition 
says,  to  be  crucified  with  his  head  downward,  as  not  wor- 
thy to  be  crucified  as  his  Master  had  been.  I  read  his 
Epistles,  eloquent  and  powerful,  of  faith  and  of  hope.  I 
think  of  Paul,  that  man  of  immense  incisive  intellect, 
discursive,  energetic,  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  Greek 
literature,  catching  his  images  from  the  Greek  games,  the 
illustrious  and  unwearied  champion  of  the  truth  in  his 
own  time  and  in  all  time — whose  firm  will,  braced  upon 
God,  the  whole  Roman  empire  could  not  break  down — 
whose  words  have  rung  evermore  through  the  ages,  from 
that  day  to  this,  whenever  liberty  of  conscience  has  been 
imperilled,  and  individual  conviction  has  been  fighting 
against  tyrannical  assumption — himself  the  Calvinist  and 
the  Puritan  of  the  world — alike  magnificent  in  character 
and  in  mind,  the  pattern  and  the  exemplar  of  whatever 
is  at  once  most  heroic  and  most  lovely  in  personal  valor 
and  in  personal  courtesy.  And  then  I  turn  to  John,  the 
ideal,  the  contemplative,  the  affectionate,  the  adoring 
one,  who  was  nearest  the  heart  of  Christ,  who  saw  his 

12 


36        THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  yOHN. 

glory  most  clearly,  and  portrayed  it  most  tenderly  and 
triumphantly; — and  I  think  of  the  Mind  above  them  all, 
which  used  them  as  its  instruments,  having  prepared 
them  for  their  office  and  sent  them  on  their  errand,  and 
having  constantly  inspired  them  to  their  endeavors  and 
successes ;  and  then  I  know  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
remaineth  for  ever !  He  who  had  these  men,  all  alike, 
while  so  unlike,  for  his  servants — for  his  "  slaves,"  as  they 
proudly  represented  themselves — He  of  whom  these  men 
equally  witnessed,  and  for  whom  they  equally  gladly 
wrought — in  whose  name  they  triumphed  and  died,  and 
for  the  vision  of  whom  they  looked  when  the  heavens 
should  open — His  kingdom  can  never  fail !  It  must  be 
as  pure  as  His  heart — as  supreme  and  immortal  as  His 
power  and  will ! 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Roman  church  is  the  church 
of  St.  Peter — the  church  of  exact  administration  and  dis- 
cipline ;  that  the  church  of  the  Reformation  is  the  church 
of  St.  Paul,  with  his  development  of  the  plan  of  Redemp- 
tion, and  his  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith;  that  the 
church  of  the  Future  is  the  church  of  St.  John,  the  apos- 
tle of  love,  and  of  the  holy  heart  of  Christ.  I  do  not 
accept  this,  altogether ;  but  I  know  that  in  the  future* 
when  the  three  shall  have  blended  together  in  the  Chris- 
tian wisdom  of  the  world,  as  the  blue  and  the  crimson 
and  the  gold  are  blended  in  the  perfect  splendor  of  the 
sunbeam,  this  Gospel  of  John  shall  still  irradiate  all  the 
Scripture,  and  shall  be  unfolding  new  treasures  and 
riches,  transcendent  ideas,  celestial  meanings  !  that  wher- 
ever a  soul  hun.frers  then  for  the  vision  of  Christ,  once 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  JOHN.        37 

tarrying  on  earth,  now  ascended  into  heaven,  it  shall  find 
it  here  !  wherever  a  soul  has  manifested  to  it  the  glory 
of  Christ,  in  any  rapturous  vision  of  His  person,  it  shall 
find  it  reflected  from  these  supreme  and  luminous  pages  ! 
wherever  a  soul  goes  to  death,  triumphant  in  the  Lord, 
it  shall  carry  still  these  words  on  its  lips  :  "  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid !"  To  the  end 
of  time — where  experience  is  deepest,  where  vision  is  clear- 
est and  most  transfiguring — this  Gospel  of  John  shall  be 
still  most  precious.  And  next  to  the  vision  of  the  Son  of 
God  himself,  in  his  glory,  there  can  be  nothing  so  attractive 
in  all  the  future,  nothing  so  rejoicing  to  the  heart,  as  to 
look  on  the  illumined  face  of  him  who  clasped  the  hand 
of  Christ,  and  leaned  upon  His  sustaining  breast,  and 
who,  as  taught  by  His  own  Spirit,  has  taught  the  world 
that  "the  Word  was  God,"  that  "the  Word  was  made 
flesh,"  and  that  that  Word,  so  incarnated  in  our  nature, 
shall  at  last  conquer  the  world ! 


THE 


Acts  of  the  Apostles. 


BV  REV.  JOHN  HALL,  D.  D., 

NEW  YORK. 


12^ 


THE 


ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.* 


It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  the  Vice-President 
of  this  Association  that  instead  of  attempting  to  deal  with 
the  whole  subject  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  one 
address,  it  should  be  divided  into  two;  that  I  should  take 
the  opening  part  of  the  book  for  to-night,  and  some  one 
will  no  doubt  be  found  happy  enough  and  competent 
enough  to  take  up  the  latter  part  of  the  book  in  some 
subsequent  series  of  lectures  ;  in  this  way  it  may  be  pos- 
sible to  fix  your  attention  more  closely  upon  details  than 
it  otherwise  would  be  possible  to  do,  for  any  one  who 
looks  at  the  book  must  be  conscious  of  what  a  very 
wide  region  it  covers,  and  how  difficult  it  would  be  to 
bring  immediately,  solidly  and  instructively  before  the 
view  of  an  audience,  all  this  broad  area  within  the  com- 
pass of  an  evening's  address. 

I  remember  a  time  in  my  own  thought  when,  if  any 
one  had  asked  me  how  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
came  to  be  as  they  are,  I  should  either  have  been  at  a 
loss  altogether  for  an  answer,  or  I  should  have  been  ready 
to  say  that  in  the  process  of  putting  the  books  together, 

*  This  is  a  verbatim  report  of  an  address  which  was  spoken,  not 
read :  hence  its  colloquial  form.         j,  h. 


4  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES, 

perhaps  in  the  process  of  binding  them,  it  had  been  found 
convenient  to  arrange  them  just  as  they  are.  But  when 
one  comes  to  know  his  Bible  a  Uttle  better,  he  gets  rid 
of  all  such  hazy  explanations  as  this,  and  he  finds  out 
that  the  New  Testament  in  its  place,  and  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  its  place,  are  both  organisms  with  a  distinct  and 
definite  structure,  with  their  various  portions  so  placed 
that  he  who  would  undertake  to  make  a  change  of  the 
the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  would,  in  a  great 
degree  destroy  the  symmetry  of  the  whole.  It  is  a  little 
easier  to  make  that  perfectly  plain  in  connection  with  the 
New  Testament  than  it  is  with  the  Old ;  although  I  do 
not  doubt  that  we  shall  be  able  to  see  some  general  prin- 
ciple running  through  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  very 
easy  to  see  how  it  is  with  the  New.  The  New  Testa- 
ment, being  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  naturally  the 
first  part  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  a  history  of  Christ. 
This  is  done  by  four  consecutive  evangelists  no  two  of 
them  alike.  I  dare  say  to  many  of  you  it  appears  a 
strange  thing  that  there  should  be  four  writers  going 
over  the  same  ground  and  dealing  with  the  life  of  one 
individual.  I  am  afraid  that  in  the  first  instance  many 
persons  do  not  discriminate  between  the  various  evange- 
lists, or  look  out  for  the  personal  characteristics  of  the 
writers  of  the  Gospels  in  their  various  productions. 
Whenever  the  reader  does  come  to  discriminate  in  this 
way,  then  I  think  the  interest  with  which  he  reads  the 
,  Gospels  is  very  greatly  increased.  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  illustrating  this  fourfold  characteristic  of  the 
evangelistic  narrative  by  an  illustration  which  all  of  us 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  5 

can  easily  comprehend.     If  you  want  a  plan  for  a  house 
and  one  is  prepared,  it  is  scarcely  ever  presented  upon  a 
single  surface.     There  will  be  a  ground  plan  ;  there  will 
be  a  front  elevation  ;  there  will  be  a  side  view  and,  gen- 
erally speaking,  there  will  be  four  presentations  of  the 
building  you  desire  to  erect.     In  no  other  way  can  it 
adequately  be  brought  before  the  eye.     So  here  we  see 
the  manifold  character  of  our  blessed  Lord.     Men  are 
placed  at  different  standpoints,  so  to  speak,  and  they 
have  an  opportunity  to  study  him,  and  each  from  his 
own  particular    standpoint   as  it  were,  inspired  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  has  recorded  what  he  has  observed  so  that 
it  shall  stand  out  with  distinctness  before  the  reader, 
that  at  the  distance  of  centuries  he  may  be  able  to  get 
some  clear,  full  and  comprehensive  notion  of  the  char- 
acter and  the  life  of  Christ.     Generally  speaking,  writers 
are  agreed  that  Matthew  prepared  the  Gospel  for  the 
Hebrews,  as  is  indicated   by   the   genealogy  which   he 
gives  of  our  Lord  and  by  his  very  numerous  quotations 
from  the  Old  Testament  Scripture,  and  the  application 
of  those  passages  to  a  general  delineation  of  the  truths 
as  brought  out  by  our  blessed  Lord,  which  would  strike 
the  mind  of  the  Jewish  reader  and  suggests  to  him  that 
the  advent  of  the  Saviour  introduces  the  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy  that  had  been  given  to  the  Fathers.     There 
is  an  obvious  and  natural  transition  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  the  narrative  of  Matthew.     How  easy  is  the 
translation   from   Malachi   to    Matthew.      Then    comes 
Mark's  Gospel,  the  general  understanding  among  critics 
being  that  he  received  his  main  assistance  from  the  apos- 


6  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

tie  Peter.  It  is  a  gospel  of  movement  or  action,  In  which 
our  Saviour  is  seen  as  doing  rather  than  heard  as  speak- 
ing, and  in  which  he  stands  before  us  so  prominently  and 
distinctly  as  the  man  Christ  Jesus  going  about  doing 
good. 

Then  we  come  to  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  connected  as 
it  is  with  the  subject  that  we  have  before  us  to-night.  It 
is  not  necessary  for  us  to  enter  into  speculations  as  to 
who  Luke  probably  was.  There  are  some  who  allege 
that  he  appears  to  have  been  a  Gentile  by  birth.  That, 
however,  is  only  a  matter  of  speculation.  Probably 
nothing  can  be  said  with  confidence  one  way  or  the  oth- 
er about  that  matter.  He  was,  for  a  long  time,  the  com- 
panion of  the  apostle  Paul ;  and  we  can  trace,  as  we 
proceed  in  the  narration  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in 
the  use  of  the  pronoun  "  we^'  very  naturally,  a  writer  who 
was  with  Paul.  We  can  trace  points  at  which  he  takes 
up  the  journey  and  becomes  the  companion  of  Paul  with- 
out mentioning  the  fact.  By  his  use  of  the  pronoun 
"ze;^"  we  conclude  that  he  must  have  been  a  companion 
of  Paul,  and  a  fellow-laborer  with  Paul. 

He  is  called  the  "  Beloved  Physician."  I  do  not  think 
we  are  bound  to  attach  any  importance  to  the  specu- 
lation that  probably,  as  has  been  suggested,  he  is  called 
a  physician  in  a  figurative  and  metaphorical  sense,  so  as 
to  indicate  the  bringing  of  medicines  for  the  minds  of 
men.  Nor  is  the  parallel  of  his  case  to  be  found  in  the 
case  of  those  servants  of  the  Lord  who  were  called  fish- 
ermen. It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  such  was  their 
occupation  at  the  time  that  Christ  commanded  them  to 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  7 

follow  Him,  and  the  title  was  subsequently  applied  to 
them  in  a  spiritual  sense,  having  a  spiritual  significance  ; 
but  it  is  not,  to  my  mind,  in  any  figurative  or  spiritual 
sense,  but  in  a  practical  and  actual  sense  as  an  historical 
statement,  that  Luke  is  alluded  to  as  the  Beloved  Phy- 
sician. It  appears  that  in  many  instances  educated 
Greeks,  who  were  really  no  higher  socially  than  slaves 
or  freedmen,  were  nevertheless  educated  for  physicians, 
educated  upon  the  standard  of  the  time ;  and  it  has  been 
conjectured  that  he  stood  in  this  rank.  At  any  rate,  his 
style  and  the  general  character  of  the  expressions  by 
which  his  narrative  is  marked,  indicate  that  he  was  an 
intelligent  man,  such  a  man  as  would  be  regarded  among 
us  relatively  as  an  educated  man. 

There  are  certain  features  about  Luke's  Gospel  which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  had  been  specially  se- 
lected to  write  a  gospel  intended  for  Gentile  believers, 
in  which  the  truth  about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
work  might  be  presented  in  such  an  aspect  as  would 
conciliate  the  Gentile  mind.  And  it  is  impossible  for 
any  one  to  go  through  the  Gospel  of  Luke  without  noti- 
cing these  characteristics,  standing  out  with  great  clear- 
ness, even  upon  the  surface  of  the  narrative.  Wherever 
the  Messiah  comes  in  contact  with  the  Gentiles,  when- 
ever a  word  is  spoken  in  their  favor,  whenever  they  are 
presented  in  a  favorable  aspect,  whenever  the  matter 
that  is  being  referred  to  touches  their  case,  though  it 
may  not  find  a  place  in  Mark  or  in  Matthew,  you  are 
sure  to  find  it  upon  the  pages  of  the  evangelist  Luke. 
His  exhibit  is  not  Jesus  Christ  simply  as  the  Messiah 


8  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

for  the  Hebrews,,  fulfilling  the  Old  Testament  prophecies 
as  to  the  Jews,  but  a  Messiah  for  the  world — for  the 
Jews  as  well  as  the  Gentiles.  So  the  parable  of  the 
Good  Samaritan  finds  a  place  in  Luke's  pages.  So  the 
existence  of  the  grateful  Samaritan  finds  its  place  upon 
Luke's  pages.  In  one  word,  (for  I  have  no  time  to  par- 
ticularize upon  this  subject,)  any  seemingly  insignificant 
circumstances  in  our  Lord's  career  that  touch  this  great 
feature,  have  a  charm  for  this  writer;  and  as  the  Spirit 
of  God  directs  him  he  puts  them  in  his  pages  as  if  he 
were  thinking  that  educated  men,  freedmen,  slaves,  good 
centurions,  Romans  and  Gentiles,  to  the  very  ends  of 
the  earth  would  need  to  study  the  character  of  our  Re- 
deemer, who  came,  not  to  Jews  only,  nor  to  Gentiles 
only,  but  who  came  to  make  Jews  and  Gentiles  one, 
breaking  down  for  ever  the  middle  wall  of  separation 
between  them. 

It  does  not  lie  within  my  purpose  to  touch  the  Gos- 
pel of  John,  although  if  it  were  proper  to  do  so  I  would 
say  here  that  it  goes  to  show  in  the  clearest  way  the 
plan  and  the  unity  of  these  narrations  of  the  evangelists. 
It  is  easy  to  see  how  this  evangelist,  Luke,  is  the  proper 
person  to  be  used  for  chronicling  the  establishment  of 
the  Christian  church  in  the  world.  Jesus  Christ  comes. 
He  reveals  the  Father  unto  men.  He  is  the  witness  to 
the  truth.  He  is  a  leader  unto  the  people.  He  sets 
forth  the  old  Hebrew  law  in  a  new  light.  He  clears 
away  from  it  excrescences  that  were  permitted  to  re- 
main there.  He  discriminates  between  the  local  and 
temporary,  and  the  spiritual  and  permanent ;  and  above 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  9 

all  he  sets  forth  himself  as  the  representative  of  the 
Father,  with  his  gracious  invitations,  repeated  in  numer- 
ous texts,  such  as,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  If  this  were 
all  of  the  New  Testament,  an  earnest  questioner  might 
ask,  "What  will  come  of  it?  Here  we  have  a  great 
teacher,  and  a  great  revelation,  and  floods  of  light  come 
upon  that  which  has  hitherto  been  obscure.  But  he 
leaves  the  earth,  he  says  he  is  going  to  his  Father  and 
our  Father.  What  will  come  of  it.?"  and  if  our  New 
Testament  had  been  cut  off,  so  to  speak,  abruptly  at  the 
close  of  the  Gospels,  how  many  wondering  interrogatories 
must  have  been  in  the  human  mind.  Will  any  perma- 
nent result  flow  from  this  Teacher }  Will  there  be  any 
organization  1  Will  there  be  anything  further }  Will 
there  be  any  organized  unity  t  Will  there  be  any  sym- 
pathy or  fellowship  with  this  Jewish  church — this  visible 
theocracy  that  has  been  identified  with  God  and  his 
truth  and  his  cause  in  the  world.?  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  as  a  book  furnishes  the  answer  to  that  great 
question.  We  do  not  need  to  deal  in  any  degree  with 
the  questions  that  have  been  raised  touching  Theophi- 
lus,  to  whom  the  Gospel  of  Luke  and  this  book  alike 
are  dedicated.  It  is  not  material  to  our  purpose  to 
determine  whether  it  is  a  fictitious  name,  intended  to 
represent  everybody  that  loved  the  Lord  and  honored 
him,  or  whether  it  is  the  actual  name  of  a  real  man. 
But  it  is  proper  to  say  that  it  is  in  no  wise  contrary  to 
the  analogy  of  the  Scripture  to  suppose  that  it  was  the 
name  of  an  actual  man,  a  believer  and  a  Gentile — as  we 

13 


10  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

may  presume  from  his  name,  compounded  as  it  is  of  two 
Greek  words — and  whom  Luke  made  prominent  by  in- 
troducing and  dedicating  to  him  a  Gospel  Hke  that,  and 
a  history  Hke  that  which  it  was  the  function  and  the 
honor  of  Luke  to  present  to  Christendom.  He  says, 
"The  former  treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,"  which 
naturally  suggests  that  there  is  a  close  link  or  connec- 
tion between  the  former  and  that  which  is  now  produced, 
so  that  the  Acts  may  be  taken  as  a  kind  of  second  Luke, 
a  continuation  of  his  Gospel,  a  carrying  forward  of  the 
history  first  introduced  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  to  be 
perpetuated  and  to  be  rung  in  the  ears  of  men  in  all 
lands  and  through  succeeding  ages,  through  those  who 
received  his  commission  and  were  baptized  with  his 
Spirit. 

I  remember  my  attention  was  called  many  years  ago 
to  a  work  that  I  suppose  is  not  very  much  used  now, 
because  some  later  books  have  superseded  it — namely, 
Baumgarten  on  the  Acts.  It  is  in  Clark's  Foreign 
Theological  Library.  It  is  not  by  any  means  a  perfect 
book,  but  it  contains  some  most  admirable  and  useful 
presentations  of  the  truth,  and  if  you  should  come  in  the 
way  of  it,  and  ^houjd  find  time  to  read  and  study  it, 
I  think  it  would  be  of  great  service  and  value  to  you. 
I  remember  that  it  was  a  kind  of  revelation  to  me.  I 
was  comparatively  young  when  I  saw,  what  he  takes 
pains  to  delineate  in  this  work,  that,  strictly  speaking, 
the  title  of  the  book  is  misleading.  I  do  not  mean  that 
the  title  is  not  applicable  to  the  book  itself,  but  strictly 
speaking,  the  book  does  not  contemplate  the  acts-  or  do- 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  ii 

ings  of  the  apostles,  so  much  as  it  contemplates  the  acts 
or  doings  of  Christ  who  sent  the  apostles  ;  as  though  we 
read  between  the  lines  in  some  such  way  as  this  :  "  The 
former  treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of  all  that 
Jesus  began  to  do  and  teach  until  he  was  taken  up  into 
heaven  ;  and  this  I  dedicate  to  thee,  O  Theophilus,  that 
I  may  show  thee  what  Jesus  continued  to  do  and  to  teach 
after  he  was  taken  up  into  heaven."  And  the  more  you 
study  the  book  the  more  just  that  criticism  will  seem  to 
you  to  be. 

Practically  all  the  apostles  are  not  here.  They  are 
just  mentioned  as  a  list  in  the  beginning.  We  find  that 
most  of  them  were  put  out  of  sight.  Practically  two 
apostles  monopolize  the  attention  of  the  writer  through- 
out this  book.  The  book  never  claims  to  give  a  consec- 
utive history  of  either  one  or  the  other  of  these  two. 
We  have  the  apostle  Paul,  who  has  the  largest  share 
of  the  book,  and  whose  movements  are  presented  to  us 
with  great  fulness ;  yet  we  can  easily  satisfy  ourselves, 
by  comparison  of  the  Epistles  with  the  book  of  the  Acts, 
that  some  movements  of  Paul  that  had  a  very  important 
bearing  upon  the  world's  evangelization  do  not  find  any 
place  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Plainly  it  is  not  in- 
tended by  the  writer  to  give  us  successive  pictures  of  the 
whole  of  the  apostolic  band.  His  intention  is  to  present 
to  us  the  continuous  work  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  has  se- 
lected certain  things  as  examples.  It  is  his  intent  to 
keep  Christ  before  the  mind  of  the  reader,  and  to  make 
the  reader  understand  what  is  being  done  by  the  church 
below.     The  Head  of  the  church  is  above.     But  he  con- 


12  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

tinues  to  teach;  he  continues  to  do;  he  continues  to 
work.  If  you  by  his  grace  are  the  children  of  God,  you 
are  being  taught  by  him.  If  you  do  as  Stephen  did,  as 
Teter  did,  as  John  did,  as  Paul  did — if  you  do  mighty 
works,  it  is  because  Christ  from  his  throne  is  working  in 
you  and  by  you,  and  carrying  on  his  gracious  purposes 
in  the  banishment  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  in  the  intro- 
duction and  establishment  of  his  truth  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

Accordingly  we  find  this  book  is  not  at  all  biograph- 
ical in  the  strict  and  proper  sense  of  the  word.  It  is 
more ;  it  is  what  might  be  called  ecclesiological.  It  is 
not  intended  to  show  how  a  particular  man  or  particular 
men  carry  themselves  ;  it  is  intended  to  show  the  prog- 
ress of  the  work  of  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth.  The 
veritable  body  of  Christ  disappeared  from  the  earth,  but 
another  and  no  less  glorious  body  is  to  be  set  up  on 
the  earth,  the  mystical  body  composed  of  living  saints, 
an  organism  with  Christ  as  its  head  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
as  its  heart.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  shows  how  this 
organism  grew  up,  and  how  it  contained  all  the  requi- 
sites that  it  needed  to  take  within  itself  every  tribe  and 
tongue  and  people  and  nation. 

In  accordance  with  this  general  character  of  the 
Acts,  one  need  not  exercise  any  subtle  ingenuity  in 
seeking  for  the  divisions  of  the  book.  It  divides  itself 
into  two  great  portions.  The  first  we  find  occupied  with 
the  establishment  of  the  Christian  church  among  the 
Jews  ;  the  second  by  the  establishment  of  the  Christian 
church  among  the  Gentiles,     The  idea  is  to  show  how 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  13 

this  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  left  alone  in  our  world,  so  to 
speak,  and  which  he  charged  his  servants  in  his  name  to 
make  known,  grows  ;  how  it  comes  from  one  great  cen- 
tre to  another  and  finds  a  lodgment  in  each  one  of  them, 
and  impresses  itself  upon  the  attention  and  the  con- 
science of  those  who  hear;  how  it  spreads  in  each  one 
of  these  centres,  beginning  at  Jerusalem,  until  it  has 
reached  what  was  then  the  capital  of  Gentiledom,  Rome, 
and  established  itself  there;  and  when  that  has  been 
done,  when  the  narrative  of  that  has  been  set  before  us, 
then  the  book  closes,  and  closes  with  an  abruptness  that 
shows  how  little  the  writer  thought  of  himself,  and  how 
little  he  thought  about  anybody  else,  dear  as  they  were 
to  him,  and  venerable  as  most  of  them  were  in  the 
church ;  how  little  he  thought  of  them  except  in  so  far 
as  they  were  the  instruments  of  Christ  in  carrying  out  his 
will  and  in  fulfilling  that  portion  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophecy  that  the  Lord  should  come  forth  out  of  Zion 
and  out  of  Jerusalem,  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  Gen- 
tiles should  see  his  light  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
behold  his  glory. 

Now  these  two  great  classes  of  Jews  and  Gentiles 
constituted  the  world  at  that  time ;  and  I  need  not  dwell 
upon  the  bitter  animosities  that  existed  between  these 
two  races,  nor  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  of  how  wide 
was  the  chasm  that  separated  them,  or  what  a  gulf  of 
prejudice,  mutual  suspicions,  and  bitter  hostility,  lay  be- 
tween them  ;  how  complete  was  the  contempt  with  which 
the  Jew,  forgetting  what  he  owed  to  grace,  and  taking 
his  high  privileges  as  a  right,  regarded  the  Gentile,  and 

13* 


14  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

with  what  compounded  interest  the  Gentile  returned  his 
scorn  and  hatred,  so  that  "the  accursed  Jew"  was  the 
formula  that  most  naturally  came  to  the  lips  and  tongue 
of  even  the  cultivated  Roman  when  he  had  occasion  to 
speak  of  an  inhabitant  of  Judea.  Any  man  who  would 
appreciate  the  gigantic  difficulties  in  the  way  of  estab- 
lishing this  living  spiritual  unity  among  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles and  placing  them  upon  the  same  level  as  brethren, 
must  take  into  account  all  the  divergences  which  grew 
up  for  centuries,  dividing  the  Jew  from  the  Gentile.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  we  should  find  so  many  indications  in 
this  book,  and  so  many  corresponding  indications  through- 
out the  Epistles,  of  the  jealousies  with  which,  even  when 
they  became  Christians,  Jews  by  birth  regarded  Gentiles 
by  birth,  and  Gentiles  by  birth  regarded  Jews  by  birth, 
that  were  believers. 

Having  now  called  your  attention  to  the  order  and 
the  sequence  of  the  gospel  narrative,  and  to  the  narra- 
tive of  the  book  of  the  Acts  in  general,  it  will  be  proper 
for  me,  in  the  second  place,  to  proceed  to  an  analysis, 
such  as  ought  to  be  before  the  mind  of  the  teacher  if  he 
would  give  a  clear  and  comprehensive  account  of  the  suc- 
ceeding portions  of  the  book.  The  first  chapter  is  in 
some  sense  introductory  to  that  which  comes  after. 
After  the  graceful  preface  to  which  allusion  has  been 
already  made,  involving  the  dedication,  the  writer  takes 
lip  his  narrative  where  he  dropped  it  at  the  end  of  his 
Gospel,  and  proceeds  to  give  a  vivid  description  of  the 
ascension  of  our  blessed  Lord :  upon  which  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary for  us  to  dwell.     In  obedience  to  the  Master's 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  15 

command,  they  had  waited  for  the  promised  Spirit  that 
was  to  constitute  their  motive-power.  In  the  mean  time 
they  seem  to  have  been  mindful  of  the  theocratic  arrange- 
ment that  had  prevailed  among  the  tribes  of  Israel,  having 
no  doubt  the  idea  that  there  was  some  intentional  resem- 
blance between  the  twelve  tribes  and  the  number  of  the 
disciples  or  apostles ;  and  it  seems  to  have  appeared  to 
them  proper  that,  one  of  their  number  having  fallen  by 
his  transgression,  they  should  take  the  necessary  steps 
for  appointing  his  successor,  so  as  to  make  the  complete 
number  twelve.  This  was  done  apparently,  not  by  the 
eleven  alone,  but  in  consultation  and  apparent  coopera- 
tion with  the  rest  of  the  believers  in  Jerusalem,  the  num- 
ber altogether  being  about  one  hundred  and  twenty. 

They  seem  to  have  continued  in  this  state  of  prayer- 
ful expectation  until  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come, 
and  the  second  chapter  of  the  book  very  naturally  occu- 
pies itself  with  the  startling  details  of  that  transaction. 
Peter  is  the  man  who  figures  most  prominently  in  it. 
Just  at  this  point  I  cannot  refuse  myself  the  satisfaction 
of  calling  your  attention  to  the  singular  delicacy  which 
runs  through  the  whole  of  this  narrative  when  it  touches 
individuals.  I  will  suppose  one  to  be  reading  continu- 
ously through  the  Gospels,  and  as  he  finishes  the  Gospels 
the  thing  that  is  uppermost  in  his  heart  is  :  What  a  shame 
for  Peter  !  What  a  disgrace  that  a  disciple  so  favored  as 
he  was,  so  honored  and  so  near  to  Christ  as  he  was — 
what  a  disgrace  to  him  and  to  humanity  that  he  should 
so  dishonor  and  belie  his  calling  and  his  Lord !  Sup- 
pose that,  passing  with  these  feelings  from  the  Gospels, 


i6  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

he  comes  into  the  Acts  and  reads  the  narrative  in  the 
second  chapter.  We  have  some  feehng  of  revulsion  in 
our  minds,  that  feeUng  of  suspicion  of  which  we  are  all 
conscious  when  some  one  of  our  brethren  has  commit- 
ted an  error  or  has  been  betrayed  into  some  action  that 
is  not  according  to  our  standard  of  right.  We  come  to 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  with  a  kind  of  feeling  against 
this  man,  so  base  and  so  mean,  being  brought  forward  so 
prominently  here.  -  But  you  will  notice  that  the  Gospel 
which  immediately  precedes  the  Acts  is  the  Gospel  of 
John.  The  last  chapter  of  that  Gospel  gives  us  a  most 
touching  delineation  of  the  details  of  the  restoration  of 
Peter  by  Jesus  Christ  himself :  *'  Feed  my  lambs  ;  shep- 
herd my  lambkins ;  take  care  of  my  sheep."  Again  and 
again  and  again  Jesus  Christ  spoke  to  this  man,  lifted 
him  up,  restored  him  to  his  love  and  confidence,  and  re- 
stored him  therefore  to  ours,  so  that  we  have  no  sense  of 
revulsion.  Our  idea  of  the  fitness  of  things  is  not  shocked 
when  this  impulsive,  impetuous,  and  brave  man,  sound  at 
heart,  though  momentarily  weak,  is  permitted  to  stand 
forth  in  that  day  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  shed  upon  the 
believers,  and  to  bear,  in  the  Master's  name,  that  testi- 
mony which  thousands  believe,  and  believing  it,  they  are 
received  into  the  Christian  faith.  There  is  to  me  a  sin- 
gular beauty  in  this  collocation  of  facts.  The  Lord  Jesus 
knows,  not  our  thoughts  only,  not  our  convictions  only, 
not  our  souls  and  consciences  only,  but  he  knows  our 
feelings,  and  with  a  touch  of  infinite  delicacy  applies  his 
gospel  to  them,  so  that  we  shall  not  only  adore,  but  ad- 
mire while  we  adore  him.     He  is  the   incarnation   of 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  17 

grace  and  beauty  as  he  is  dealing  with  the  children  of 
men. 

I  do  not  need  to  dwell  upon  this  second  chapter.  I 
have  already  mentioned  the  work  of  Baumgarten,  and  I 
will  say  here  to  any  one  who  wants  to  get  a  book  that 
will  touch  his  heart  with  its  delineation  of  this  great  mir- 
acle of  Christianity,  let  him  provide  himself  with  the 
book  of  Mr.  Arthur,  a  most  able  and  earnest  Methodist 
minister  and  a  most  entertaining  and  instructive  writer, 
called  "  The  Tongue  of  Fire."  It  is  a  striking  thing  that 
when  the  Master  sends  out  his  disciples  to  conquer  the 
world  he  does  not  give  them  swords  to  fight  with,  but 
tongues  of  fire,  to  speak  burning  words  that  will  save 
human  souls  and  inflame  the  people  with  love  to  God 
and  zeal  for  Christ. 

That  was  practically  the  birthday  of  the  Christian 
church.  It  may  be  said  that  the  church  was  born  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  Now  it  began  to  stand  forth  as  a  uni- 
ty. Baptism  is  the  recognized  emblem  and  badge  of 
the  believer.  We  have  been  baptized  unto  the  Father, 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  We  have  a  most  beautiful 
picture  of  the  condition  of  believers  in  the  temple.  "  And 
all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things  in  com- 
mon ;  and  sold  their  possessions  and  goods  and  parted 
them  to  all  men  as  every  man  had  need.  And  they 
'continuing  daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and 
breaking  bread  from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  meat 
with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising  God  and 
having  favor  with  all  people  ;  and  the  Lord  added  to  the 
church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved."     This  is  the  model 


i8  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

church ;  this  is  the  mother  church ;  this  is  the  pattern 
of  what  a  church  should  be.  Other  churches,  as  they 
are  estabHshed  throughout  the  nations,  are,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, catching  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  They  are  looking 
back  to  this  early,  pure,  bright  day  of  Christianity  in  the 
world,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  are  catching  its  spirit  and 
reproducing  its  features. 

Now  one  might  suppose  there  is  nothing  but  for  such 
a  church  to  go  on  with  successful  and  ever-increasing 
movement  throughout  the  world.  But  that  has  never 
been  true,  dear  friends,  of  any  good  movement  in  the  world. 
Accordingly  the  next  chapter  brings  before  us,  with 
sufficient  distinctness  ^nd  with  sufficient  fulness,  the 
subsequent  dangers  to  which  the  church  may  be  expected 
to  be  exposed  in  her  future  history.  A  miracle  is  wrought 
by  Peter  and  John.  As  a  consequence  of  that  miracle, 
attention  is  drawn  to  the  church  of  Christ  and  an  oppor- 
tunity is  given  of  explaining  the  way  in  which  the  mira- 
cle is  wrought,  and  calling  attention  once  again  to  the 
risen  and  glorified  Saviour.  But  as  the  people  of  Christ 
speak  to  their  fellow-citizens,  a  hostile  power  is  aroused 
and  is  arrayed  against  these  men.  "  The  captain  of  the 
temple  and  the  Sadducees  came  upon  them,  being  ag- 
grieved that  they  taught  the  people  and  preached  through 
Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  These  Sadducees 
were  the  liberals  of  their  time — broad-minded  men,  men 
at  least  who  so  complimented  themselves ;  men  of  ad- 
vanced thought ;  men  that  had  got  rid  of  the  super- 
natural; men  to  whom  indeed  angels  and  spirits  were 
nothing ;  men  to  whom  the  resurrection  was  a  mockery 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  19 

and  the  future  life  a  mere  dream.  But  behold  these 
Christian  teachers,  who  not  merely  say  that  they  are  wit- 
nesses of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  but  they  say  that 
their  Master  has  risen  from  the  dead  and  that  they  have 
proof  of  it.  The  Sadducees  were  too  liberal  to  persecute 
or  to  annoy  anybody  for  an  abstract  opinion.  The  Sad- 
ducees in  all  ages  have  been  ready  to  make  a  great  pa- 
rade of  their  liberalism,  but  the  moment  that  a  doctrine 
that  is  new  touches  their  own  creed,  true  to  their  own 
character  in  more  ages  than  one  they  have  been  forward 
in  the  ranks  of  the  persecutors  and  among  the  readiest 
to  put  down,  with  the  strong  hand  of  power,  the  hum- 
ble witnesses  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  not  the  only  kind  of  danger  to  which  the 
church  is  exposed.  I  do  not  need  to  go  into  these  details. 
Every  person  has  read  them,  or  can  read  them  and  satis- 
fy himself.  Well,  the  church  got  over  that  danger  as  it 
always  will  get  over  such  dangers.  It  has  nothing  to 
fear  from  mere  brute  power,  but  there  are  other  perils 
to  which  the  church  is  exposed.  It  seems  a  perfectly 
obvious  thing  that  there  was  no  design  on  the  part  of  the 
sacred  writer  to  chronicle  every  incident  and  every  fact. 
On  the  contrary  there  is  a  principle  of  selection  running 
through  this  narrative,  and  specimens  are  given  of  that 
which  the  church  has  to  encounter  or  which  the  church 
has  to  anticipate  or  fear  in  all  time  to  come.  On  the 
one  hand  the  church  was  to  be  apprehensive  of  the 
world's  persecuting  power.  On  the  other  hand  she  is 
to  be  afraid  of  secularism  and  vanity,  ambition  and 
self-seeking,    ostentation    and    corruption    among    her 


2a  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

own  members.  How  early  Ananias  and  Sapphira  led 
the  way  in  that  direction.  This  was  not  "  Socialism." 
There  was  no  obligation  upon  the  people  to  give  up  their 
possessions  for  the  common  good.  It  was  a  matter  of 
free  will,  but  it  was  undoubtedly  true  that  credit  was 
given  to  those  who  did  sell  their  possessions  for  the  sake 
of  the  common  benefit.  So  Ananias  and  Sapphira  laid 
their  heads  together.  *'  We  have  possessions,"  they  say, 
**  and  let  us  sell  them  and  keep  a  portion  of  them  our- 
selves ;  let  us  appear  to  be  giving  the  whole  and  get  the 
credit  for  the  whole  while  we  keep  a  portion  ourselves." 
And  they  talked  it  over  with  themselves.  Many  a  man 
will  do  a  bad  and  wicked  thing  while  its  secret  is  in  his 
own  bosom,  who  is  not  base  enough  and  bad  enough  to 
do  it  in  concert  with  another.  Men  have  always  held  a 
conspiracy  to  be  a  worse  crime  than  a  mere  individual 
offence.  They  conspired  together  ;  they  were  so  delib- 
erate about  it.  They  talked  it  over.  Husband  and  wife 
are  sometimes  bad  enough  individually,  but  they  are  very 
bad  when  they  come  to  concert  a  plan  of  wickedness  with 
one  another.  They  did  that,  and  so  they  are  detected 
and  exposed  and  signally  punished.  Of  course  there  is 
a  parallel  between  this  tragedy  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  and  the  tragedy  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation.  There  was  a  reason  for  both. 
Covetousness  was  the  lesson  of  both  tragedies,  that  of 
Judaism  in  its  infancy  and  Christianity  in  its  youth. 

I  said  there  was  no  Socialism  in  the  church  at  this 
time  ;  that  seems  to  be  assumed  in  the  very  appeal  which 
Peter  makes  when  he  says,  **  Was  it  not  thine  own  ?" 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  21 

They  were  not  bound  to  dispose  of  their  possessions,  and 
after  they  were  sold  there  was  no  obligation  upon  them 
to  give  up  the  whole  of  the  money.  They  could  give  as 
much  or  as  little  as  they  pleased.  It  was  because  they 
agreed  together  to  tempt  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  the  pun- 
■  ishment  was  visited  upon  them.  This  was  another  proof 
of  the  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  man  cannot 
tempt  an  attribute  and  cannot  lie  to  an  attribute.  It  is 
proof  al'so  of  the  Deity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  it  is  said 
afterwards,  '*  Ye  have  not  lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God  ;" 
and  on  that  sad  day,  for  it  must  have  been  a  sad  day 
even  to  the  church,  the  bodies  of  these  two  transgressors 
were  carried  out  and  buried.  No  wonder  that  great  fear 
fell  upon  the  church  and  upon  as  many  as  heard  these 
things,  and  that  of  the  rest  durst  no  man  join  himself 
unto  them.  Brethren,  it  is  not  always  a  healthy  sign 
when  crowds  are  joining  themselves  to  the  church.  It  is 
sometimes  a  good  sign  when  men  feel  that  there  is  some- 
thing awful  and  holy  about  the  church,  and  that  they  are 
not  to  join  themselves  to  it  as  a  light  and  every-day 
matter. 

I  do  not  mean  to  dwell  upon  these  things.  What  I 
want  to  make  plain  to  you  is  this  :  that  among  the  mul- 
titudinous incidents  that  must  have  happened,  the  sacred 
writer  describes  just  those  that  may  be  expected  to  be 
typical  of  the  future,  and  full  of  instruction  to  the  church 
in  all  time  to  come. 

But  there  is  another  danger  that  menaces  the  church. 
First  it  is  the  persecuting  power  of  the  world ;  then  it  is 
vanity  and  ostentation  in  the  members ;  and  now  it  is 

14 


22  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

class  feeling,  and  the  rivalry  of  old  antipathies  and  old 
class  jealousies.  The  number  of  the  disciples  was  multi- 
plied, and  somebody  had  to  administer  the  possessions 
that  were  sold  and  put  into  the  common  stock.  There 
arose  a  murmuring  among  the  Greek-speaking  people — 
who  did  not  always  live  in  Palestine,  but  who  were  there 
only  for  the  time — against  the  Hebrews,  because  their 
widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily  ministration.  We 
all  know  how  it  comes  about.  There  begins  to  be  a  little 
shaking  of  the  head  and  a  little  side-whispering  of  a  man 
to  his  neighbor,  and  a  little  intimation  that  there  is  some- 
thing in  the  way  or  something  wrong — something  that 
had  better  be  looked  into.  "  Do  n't  you  talk  about  it ; 
you  need  not  quote  me  as  saying  it,  but  there  is  some- 
thing that  had  better  be  changed."  There  arose  a  mur- 
muring, an  undertone  of  discontent  and  dissatisfaction, 
such  as  sometimes  runs  through  a  congregation  and  par- 
alyzes its  usefulness  for  a  time.  That  was  the  trouble  ; 
and  observe  the  brave  and  manly  way  in  which  the  trou- 
ble is  met  by  the  men  who  are  by  God's  appointment  at 
the  time  the  leaders  of  the  church.  They  do  not  stifle 
it.  They  do  not  hush  it  up.  They  do  not  say,  "  Let  us 
quiet  it,  and  say  nothing  about  it."  Powder  is  perilous 
when  it  is  closely  confined.  Let  the  explosion  go  off  in 
the  open  air,  and  there  is  a  mere  whiff  of  smoke,  and  the 
thing  is  harmlessly  over.  Bring  it  into  the  daylight  and 
see  what  is  wrong.  Let  us  look  fairly  at  it,  and  if  there 
be  anything  wrong,  let  us  meet  it  and  make  things  right. 
This  was  done.  "  It  is  not  our  business  to  take  charge 
of  this  matter.    The  thing  was  put  into  our  hands  be- 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  23 

cause  there  was  nobody  else  to  take  hold  of  it,  and  we 
have  done  it.  It  is  no  particular  pleasure  to  us  to  do  it. 
It  would  be  a  relief  to  us  to  get  rid  of  it.  Let  us  choose 
men  to  administer  to  the  various  wants  of  our  people." 
And  so  to  this  ecclesiastical  body,  this  corporation  of 
Christians,  there  comes  the  needed  supply  in  the  election 
of  these  good  and  true  men  to  administer  this  trust. 
Thus  they  took  away  the  cause  of  complaint  that  existed 
among  the  people  in  regard  to  this  matter.  They  treat- 
ed the  subject  in  a  bold  and  manly  way,  and  the  people 
became  obedient  to  the  faith. 

This  was  the  way  in  which  the  church  in  the  olden 
time  treated  the  danger  that  came  to  her  then.  The  dan- 
gers that  menaced  the  church  in  those  times  exist  in  the 
history  of  the  church  to-day.  The  church  is  not  only 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  persecution,  and  the  danger  of 
pride  and  vanity,  but  there  is  a  danger  against  which 
Christian  people  ought  constantly  to  be  on  their  guard. 
It  should  be  a  matter  of  solemn  duty  to  stop  whispering, 
to  put  down  the  backbiter ;  to  say,  "  If  there  is  anything 
wrong,  out  with  it !  out  with  it !  Let  it  be  explained  and 
cleared  away,  and  dealt  with  in  a  manly,  straightforward 
way;  but  let  there  be  none  of  this  subterranean  rumbling, 
that  never  can  do  anything  else  than  disturb  and  harass 
and  paralyze  men  honestly  seeking  to  do  their  duty.'* 

I  am  reminded  by  looking  at  the  face  of  the  clock 
that  the  time  has  come  when  it  will  be  proper  to  bring 
these  remarks  to  a  close;  and  probably  there  is  not 
much  more  to  be  said  ;  at  any  rate,  not  very  much  that 
will  not  come  legitimately  under  the  notice  of  the  broth- 


24  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

ers  who  will  succeed  me  in  dealing  with  Paul,  and  espe- 
cially his  work  among  the  Gentiles  ;  and  so,  if  you  please, 
with  the  few  remarks  with  which  I  shall  conclude,  I  shall 
turn  your  attention  away  from  this  analysis  of  the  narra- 
tive and  ask  you  to  look  at  two  or  three  prominent 
instances  that  pass  before  us  in  the  course  of  this  history, 
and  at  two  or  three  men  who  act  a  prominent  part,  and 
in  whom  there  is  so  much  that  we  may  with  great  advan- 
tage imitate.  Take  for  example,  Barnabas,  who  is  to 
play  a  very  conspicuous  part  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
book.  The  sacred  narrative  takes  occasion  to  introduce 
him  at  a  proper  time  as  one  of  those  who,  having  a  pos- 
session, sold  it  for  the  common  good.  There  was  no 
particular  claim  upon  him  to  do  this,  but  out  of  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  spirit  of  Christ  which  animated  him,  he 
dispossessed  himself  of  that  which  he  owned  and  sold  it 
for  the  benefit  of  the  church.  We  will  omit,  for  the 
time,  any  reference  to  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and  follow 
him  through  the  book.  See  how  intelligent  and  how 
true  be  is !  He  was  evidently  a  man  of  good  family  and 
of  considerable  property.  He  had  a  sister  who  had  a 
house  in  Jerusalem,  and  it  was  there  that  many  of  the 
leading  Christians  came.  Everybody  knew  Mary's  house. 
It  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Christian  people  in  that 
city.  As  a  matter  of  course  they  used  to  have  prayer- 
meetings  there,  and  when  Peter  was  released  from  prison, 
we  learn  from  the  sacred  narrative  that  he  went  to  the 
house  of  Mary,  the  sister  of  Barnabas,  where  there  was  a 
company  of  Christians  assembled  together.  Even  the 
domestic  that  served  in  the  house  of  Mary  caught  some- 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  25 

thing  of  her  mistress'  spirit.  I  can  almost  picture  the 
girl  as  she  stands  looking  through  the  lattice  to  see  who 
is  there.  She  has  heard  people  talk  about  Peter  ;  about 
his  being  in  prison  ;  and  when  she  sees  him  there  at  the 
door  she  goes  in  and  tells  the  assembled  company  that 
Peter  is  at  the  threshhold.  They  say,  "  Why  the  girl  is 
mad !  Peter  is  in  prison !"  But  she  is  so  earnest,  and 
reiterates  her  assertion  with  such  solemnity  that  they  go 
and  look,  and  behold,  he  is  there ! 

Now  Mary  has  a  son  ;  and  his  name  is  John,  and  his 
surname  is  Mark.  Barnabas,  having  no  family  of  his 
own,  takes  his  nephew  John  Mark  with  him  and  pets 
him  as  it  were.  Now  John  Mark  had  to  give  up  a  good 
deal.  He  might  have  thought  something  in  this  wise : 
"  There  are  the  possessions  which  my  uncle  owned  that 
might  have  been  mine  ;  but  he  has  given  them  up  to  the 
church.  I  have  no  liking  for  this  kind  of  life.  It  is  not 
by  any  means  a  pleasant  kind  of  work  ;  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  inconvenience  and  some  danger,  and  it  is  very 
different  from  the  comfort  and  luxury  of  my  life  in  Jeru- 
salem at  my  mother's  house."  And  so  he  turns  his 
back,  for  the  time  being,  upon  the  gospel  work,  and  this 
produces  some  sharp  words  between  Barnabas  and  Paul, 
and  leads  to  a  temporary  separation.  But  then,  as  we 
follow  the  sacred  narrative,  we  find  that  this  young  man 
comes  back  again — as  the  sons  of  good  mothers  nearly 
always  do  when  they  go  astray — into  the  path  of  loyalty 
and  obedience.  And  we  find  that  Paul  himself  bears 
evidence  to  the  faithfulness  of  John  Mark,  and  of  his 
personal  affection  for  him. 

J4* 


26  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES, 

There  is  another  man  mentioned  in  the  narrative,  of 
a  different  sort  entirely,  and  his  name  is  Gamaliel.  He 
had  the  reputation  of  being  a  man  of  great  wisdom.  It 
seems  to  some  persons  that  on  that  occasion  he  uttered 
words  of  profound  wisdom  in  the  advice  which  he  gave 
touching  these  men,  when  he  said,  "  Let  them  alone.  If 
this  cause  be  not  of  God,  it  will  come  to  naught ;  but  if  it 
be  of  God,  there  is  no  use  of  your  fighting  against  it."  I 
have  never  been  able  to  see  any  indications  of  great  wis- 
dom and  nobleness  in  that  man :  never.  He  was  a  man 
learned  in  the  law,  a  very  eminent  doctor  of  divinity  in 
the  city,  and  he  should  have  had  very  decided  opinions 
upon  matters  of  this  kind.  He  should  have  been  ready 
to  give  his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  right  side,  and  against 
the  wrong  side,  if  there  was  a  wrong  side  :  but  he  did  not 
do  it.  It  seems  to  me  that  he  exhibited  a  good  deal  of 
mere  human  wisdom,  a  little  approximating  to  what  we 
call  "  being  on  the  fence."  "  If  this  cause  be  of  God,  it 
will  stand  of  itself."  Is  that  a  test  of  duty  to  you  and  to 
me  t  Am  I  to  remain  undecided  until  I  see  whether  a 
cause  will  succeed  or  not,  and  then  if  it  succeeds  attach 
myself  to  it }  Are  accessions  of  that  kind  worth  any- 
thing to  a  cause  }  Is  that  a  proof  of  heroism,  of  devotion, 
of  self-sacrifice  for  the  cause  of  duty .?  And  even  if  you 
test  his  principle  by  the  facts  of  history,  it  seems  to  me 
that  his  principle  will  not  stand  the  test.  Am  I  to  allege 
that  everything  that  is  put  down  is  proved  not  to  belong 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  ?  Why,  they  trampled  out  Prot- 
estant reformation  in  Spain,  and  they  trampled  it  out  in 
Italy,  and  they  baptized  it  in  blood  and  wellnigh  tram- 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  27 

pled  it  out  in  sunny  France.  Am  I  to  say  that  the  cause 
of  this  Book  is  not  God's  cause  because  some  earthly 
power  triumphs  against  it  for  a  time  ?  Rather  would  it 
seem  to  me  to  have  been  the  duty  of  Gamaliel,  learned 
in  the  Scriptures,  to  have  searched  the  Scriptures  and 
compared  their  testimony  with  the  testimony  of  these 
men ;  and  if  he  should  be  convinced  that  these  men  were 
on  the  side  of  truth,  and  that  this  cause  was  of  God,  then 
should  he  have  been  on  their  side  fearlessly,  whether  the 
cause  should  seem  then  to  succeed,  or  whether  it  should 
seem  then  to  fail. 

One  thing  further.  Peter  and  Paul  are  the  typical 
men  of  the  apostles.  It  is  probably  one  of  the  meanings 
of  the  statements  made  by  Christ  to  Peter,  "  I  will  give 
to  thee  the  keys,"  that  Peter  has  the  honor  of  opening 
the  door  of  the  proposed  path  to  the  Jews  and  then  to 
the  Gentiles.  These  two  men  worked  on  parallel  lines 
for  the  most  part,  but  sometimes  they  crossed  each  oth- 
er's path  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  they  were  work- 
ing in  the  same  service  and  were  moved  by  the  same 
spirit.  Peter  seems  to  have  been  chosen  to  bring  the 
Gentiles  into  the  Christian  church.  Paul  was  an  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles  ;  but  in  the  providence  of  God  Peter  was 
first  chosen  to  carry  the  gospel  to  them.  Peter  was  just 
the  man  for  bringing  in  the  Gentiles.  Peter  subdues  the 
Gentiles  and  leads  them  along  in  the  light  of  the  truth. 

I  need  not  detain  you  by  referring  to  the  wonderful 
wisdom  and  the  wonderful  grace  that  was  shown  to  the 
man  who  was  to  be  first  brought  in.  He  was  not  a  noto- 
riously bad  man ;  he  was  not  a  disreputable  man  ;  but  he 


28  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

was  a  praying  man,  an  almsgiving  man,  a  man  against 
whom  there  was  no  possible  objection  but  the  one  of 
being  a  Gentile,  The  offence  is  made  as  light  as  pos- 
sible so  as  not  to  offend  too  strongly  the  prejudices  of 
the  Jews.  The  barrier  between  them  is  reduced,  so  to 
speak,  to  a  minimum,  so  as  to  make  it  as  easy  as  pos- 
sible for  these  Jews,  who  were  Christians  now,  to  over- 
come their  rigid  prejudices  and  breathe  the  free  air  of 
the  unity,  in  which  there  is  to  be  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
neither  barbarian  nor  Scythian,  nor  bond  nor  free,  but 
all  to  be  one  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  will  come  naturally  to 
your  mind  to  notice  the  beautiful  and  exquisite  way  in 
which  the  Christian  church  grows  up  out  of  the  Jewish — 
not  a  new  creation,  but  the  old  with  a  new  form  in  a  new 
body;  the  old  with  a  new  and  more  glorious  nature. 
Brethren,  we  are  the  children  of  Abraham  ;  we  sit  down 
with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  with  Jacob.  It  is  one  of 
those  thoughts  that  sometimes  come  to  me  when  I  think 
of  heaven,  what  a  glorious,  inspiriting,  and  freshening 
thing  it  will  be  to  meet  upon  equal  terms  the  grave  fathers 
of  the  olden  time,  to  meet  men  like  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah 
and  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  and  Hosea,  washed  by  the  same 
blood,  sanctified  by  the  same  Spirit,  basking  in  the  beams 
of  the  same  eternal  light,  and  with  the  same  ceaseless 
and  ever-rolling  eternity  of  unbroken  felicity  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  common  Lord  !  I  would  like  to  realize  this 
conception  in  its  earthly  application ;  I  would  make  no 
walls  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  I  would 
draw  no  line  of  demarkation  between.  I  would  study  the 
New  Testament  in  the  light  of  the  Old,  and  the  Old  in 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  29 

the  light  of  the  New.  I  would  have  the  Christian  church 
looked  upon  as  the  outgrowth  of  the  olden  time.  The 
temple  indeed  has  no  parallel  of  a  material  kind.  But 
the  Temple  of  Zion  to-day  is  more  lovely  because  it  is  a 
temple  in  which  all  true  saints  are  stones  ;  these  edi- 
fices, indeed,  in  which  we  worship  are  analogous  to  the 
synagogues  of  the  Jews ;  and  our  talking  to  the  people, 
our  Scripture  reading,  our  Scripture  explanations,  our 
singing  of  hymns,  our  prayers  in  common,  and  even  our 
collections,  are  the  literal  and  lineal  descendants,  as  any 
man  will  see  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  into 
the  matter,  of  the  ordinances  and  institutions  and  ways 
of  worship  that  were  carried  on  in  these  Old  Testament 
synagogues.  The  temple  was  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
way.  The  priest  was  gradually  going  down,  and  the 
prophet  was  rising  up  to  prepare  you  and  me,  to  prepare 
the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  and  all  the  world  for  that  dis- 
pensation, the  joys  of  which  we  inherit,  and  which  Christ 
bade  his  disciples  to  go  preach  to  all  nations,  saying  to 
them,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world." 

May  we  be  led  to  catch  the  spirit  of  this  new  dispen- 
sation of  which  we  are  made  heirs,  so  that  we  may  be 
true,  faithful,  and  effective  in  the  noble  and  blessed  ser- 
vice of  the  best  of  masters. 


THE 


Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 


BY  REV.  WILLIAM  M.  TA  YLOR,  D.  D., 

NEW  YORK. 


THE 


Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 


Somewhere  about  three  hundred  years  before  the 
birth  of  Christ  a  horde  of  adventurers  from  the  western 
extremity  of  Europe  pushed  their  way  eastward,  crossed 
the  Hellespont,  and  overran  the  greater  portion  of  Asia 
Minor,  where  for  a  time  the  Syrian  kings  were  compelled 
to  submit  to  them.  At  length,  however,  they  were  them- 
selves overcome  by  Attains  of  Pergamus,  who  hemmed 
them  in  within  comparatively  narrow  limits.  The  terri- 
tory to  which  they  were  thus  confined  was  composed  of 
parts  of  Phrygia  and  Cappadocia,  and  came  to  be  known 
as  Galatia,  from  the  name  "  Gauls,"  by  which  the  inva- 
ders were  called.  There  these  western  barbarians  came 
into  contact  with  the  original  Phrygians  and  the  Greek 
settlers  who  were  scattered  among  them,  and  were  so 
influenced  by  them  that  they  adopted  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Greeks,  so  that  their  land  was  sometimes 
denominated  Gallo-Graecia.  In  the  conflict  between 
Antiochus  and  the  Romans  they  took  the  side  of  the 
former,  and  were  easily  subdued  by  the  consul  Manlius. 


4  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS, 

But  their  conquerors  allowed  them  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  to  retain  their  own  form  of  government, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  that  they  were  reduced  to  a  Roman  province. 

The  population  of  this  region  was  thus,  at  the  time 
when  Paul  wrote,  of  a  composite  description.  First, 
there  were  the  descendants  of  the  invading  Gauls,  who 
retained  those  peculiarities  which  even  till  this  day  have 
kept  such  persistent  hold  on  all  the  branches  of  the 
Celtic  race.  Next,  there  were  the  genuine  Phrygians, 
who  were  devoted  to  the  idolatry  of  Bacchus  and  Cybele. 
Then  came  the  Greek  colonists,  who  carried  with  them 
their  culture,  their  language,  and  their  philosophy.  To 
these  must  be  added  a  large  Jewish  element,  for  Antio- 
chus  had  settled  two  thousand  Jewish  families  in  Lycao- 
nia  and  Phrygia,  and  many  more  were  probably  attracted 
to  the  three  great  cities — Pessinus,  Ancyra,  and  Tavi- 
um — by  the  facilities  which  their  situation  afforded  for 
commercial  enterprise.  Each  of  these  classes  brought 
its  own  deposit  and  contributed  it  to  the  formation  of 
the  national  character ;  but  the  dominating  qualities 
were  those  of  the  Gauls.  The  rugged  external  features 
of  the  half-barbarous  Europeans  had  yielded  somewhat 
to  the  enervating  influence  of  the  effeminate  Phrygians, 
but  beneath  the  surface  they  were  Celtic  still,  and  were 
distinguished  by  eager  restlessness,  shallow  vivacity, 
short-lived  enthusiasm,  and  that  unreliable  fickleness 
which  Caesar  found  in  his  Gallic  allies  and  antagonists. 
Indeed,  one  cannot  read  this  letter  of  Paul's,  even  in  the 
most  superficial  manner,  without  being  reminded  that 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  5 

the  Galatians  were  the  kinsmen  of  those  whom  the  great 
Roman  general  has  described  as  "fickle  in  taking  up 
plans,  fond  of  innovating,  and  utterly  untrustworthy." 
The  Jewish  influence,  so  far  as  it  went,  was  no  doubt 
wholesome,  and  the  presence  of  his  kinsmen  amono- 
the  people  gave  the  apostle  the  same  point  of  contact 
with  the  Gentile  mind  which  he  invariably  improved  in 
other  quarters  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  Celtic  fond- 
ness for  ritual  observances  served  also  to  give  the  Juda- 
izing  party  in  the  early  church  an  advantage  which  they 
were  not  slow  to  use  against  the  gospel  which  Paul 
preached. 

So  far  as  appears  the  churches  in  Galatia,  which  were 
probably  situated  in  the  three  principal  cities  which  I 
have  already  named,  were  founded  by  the  apostle  him- 
self, and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  there  is  special 
mention  of  two  visits  which  he  made  to  this  district. 
The  first  (Acts  16:6)  was  in  the  course  of  his  second 
missionary  journey,  not  long  before  he  crossed  from 
Troas  into  Macedonia.  He  was  suffering  at  the  time 
from  some  severe  bodily  aflfliction — probably  from  an 
unusually  acute  attack  of  that  chronic  malady  which  he 
has  elsewhere  called  his  "  thorn  in  the  flesh  ;"  for  in  his 
letter  he  speaks  of  his  having  preached  to  them  at  first 
"through  infirmity  of  the  flesh"  (4  :  13).  But  the  effect 
of  his  weakness  was  to  elicit  the  sympathy  and  kindness 
of  his  hearers,  for  he  represents  them  as  neither  despising 
nor  rejecting  his  trial,  but  as  receiving  him  as  if  he  had 
been  an  angel  of  God ;  nay,  as  if  he  had  been  Christ 
himself.     Such  had  been  their  eagerness  to  help  him, 


6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

that  he  bears  them  record  that  if  it  had  been  possible  they 
would  have  plucked  out  their 'ownj eyes  and  given  them 
to  him.  His  preaching  among  them  had  been  a  setting  ] 
forth  before  their  eyes  of  Jesus  Christ  as  evidently  cru- 
cified among  them.  And  as  Lightfoot  has  eloquently 
said,  "  If  we  picture  to  ourselves  the  apostle  as  he  ap- 
peared before  the  Galatians,  a  friendless  outcast,  writhing 
under  the  tortures  of  a  painful  malady,  yet  instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  by  turns  denouncing  and  en- 
treating, appealing  to  the  agonies  of  a  crucified  Saviour, 
perhaps  also,  as  at  Lystra,  enforcing  this  appeal  by  some 
striking  miracle,  we  shall  be  at  no  loss  to  conceive  how 
the  fervid  temperament  of  the  Gaul  might  have  been 
aroused,  while  yet  only  the  surface  of  his  spiritual  con- 
sciousness was  ruffled."*  Great  enthusiasm  apparently 
prevailed  among  them  ;  they  received,  by  the  laying  on 
of  apostolic  hands,  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  and  the  power 
of  working  miracles.  They  spake  of  the  blessedness  that 
had  come  to  them  through  his  ministry.  They  started 
off  with  eagerness  and  did  run  well,  so  that  when  he  left 
them  his  heart  was  full  of  joy,  and  he  anticipated  great 
things  from  them  in  the  future.  But  when,  after  an  in- 
terval of  two  years  or  more,  he  made  them  another  visit 
(Acts  18:23),  he  found  that  some  evil  influence  had 
been  at  work  among  them,  and  felt  -it  necessary  to  de- 
nounce every  one  who  preached  to  them  another  gospel 
than  that  which  he  had  proclaimed  (i  :  9) ;  while  at  the 
same  time  he  told  them  some  unpalatable  truth,  for  which 
he  seems  to  fear  that  they  held  him  as  their  enemy 

*  Lightfoot's  Galatians,  p.  24. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS,  7 

(4  :  16).  We  know  next  to  nothing  of  what  was  clone  or 
said  by  him  on  this  occasion,  but  it  is  probable  that  he 
went  to  Ephesus  feeHng  reassured  concerning  them,  and 
having  the  hope  that  he  had  established  them  in  the 
faith.  Yet  he  would  be  naturally  solicitous  about  their 
movements,  and  would  endeavor  to  keep  up  his  knowledo-e 
of  them  by  every  means  in  his  power.  Indeed  it  was  the  ^ 
report  of  their  virtual  apostasy  which  struck  out  of  him 
the  letter  which  we  are  now  to  consider,  and  which  is  in 
some  respects*the  most  remarkable  of  his  writings. 

Its  genuineness  is  as  good  as  universally  admitted. 
Only  one  even  of  the  negative  critics  of  Germany  has 
ventured  to  call  its  authorship  in  question,  and  his  views 
have  been  condemned  by  all.  We  have  here,  therefore, 
an  undoubtedly  authentic  letter,  written  some  think  from 
Ephesus,  about  the  year  54 ;  and  others,  as  Lightfoot, 
Howson,  and  Alford,  from  Macedonia,  about  the  year  57 
or  58.  At  the  very  latest,  therefore,  we  are  only  twenty- 
nine  years  from  the  crucifixion  of  Christ;  and  as  we 
crowd  into  our  modern  years,  by  steamship,  railroad,  and 
telegraph,  so  much  more  than  they  did  in  ancient  times, 
these  twenty-nine  years  may  be  taken  as  representing 
only  fifteen  years  of  this  century.  That  is  to  say,  we 
have  here  a  letter  which  is  virtually  as  near  to  the  date 
of  the  Redeemer's  death,  as  we  are  to-day  to  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg.  Let  that  fact  be  realized  in  all  its  signifi- 
cance, and  you  will  see  how  absurd  all  these  theories  are 
which  would  account  for  the  Gospels  by  the  gradual  ac- 
cretion of  mythical  stories  round  some  ideal  nucleus. 
Those  myths,  to  which  Niebuhr  and  others  refer  in  sec- 

15* 


8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

ular  history,  are  the  growth  of  ages  ;  but  there  is  posi- 
tively no  opportunity  for  their  formation  in  the  brief  in- 
terval which  elapsed  between  the  resurrection  and  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  literature,  even  if  the  epoch 
to  which  we  are  referring  had  been  adapted  to  their  pro- 
duction. Here  is  a  letter  of  a  date  that  is  less  than  thirty 
years  removed  from  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ ; 
it  is  the  undoubted  production  of  one  of  the  most  intel- 
lectual men  of  his  own  or  any  other  age ;  and  it  has  come 
to  us  virtually  as  he  wrote  it ;  yet  we  couid  easily  bring 
out  of  it  all  the  great  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  gospel : 
so  that  the  mythical  theory  is  thereby  demonstrated  to 
be  a  palpable  impossibility. 

The  occasion  on  which  this  letter  was  written,  as  we 
have  already  hinted,  was  the  receipt  of  intelligence  by 
the  apostle  to  the  effect  that  the  Galatian  converts  had 
fallen  from  their  belief  in  salvation  by  grace,  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  had  submitted  to  the  Jewish 
rite  of  circumcision  on  the  alleged  ground  that  it  was 
essential  to  their  acceptance  with  God.  This  had  been 
brought  about  by  the  agency  of  false  teachers  from  Je- 
rusalem, who  pretended  to  speak  as  the  messengers  of 
the  apostles  ;  and  from  the  specification  by  Paul  of  one 
particular  troubler  (5  :  10),  it  is  probable  that  there  was 
one  individual  among  them  who  made  his  antagonism 
peculiarly  prominent,  and  was,  as  we  might  say,  a  ring- 
leader in  the  revolt  against  his  instructions.  But,  who- 
ever they  were,  they  went  most  insidiously  to  work,  for 
they  began  by  endeavoring  to  undermine  the  apostolic 
character  and  authority  of  Paul.     They  represented  that 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  9 

he  was  subordinate  to  James,  Peter,  and  John,  and  that 
these  pillars  of  the  church  were  irreconcilably  opposed 
to  his  teachings ;  and,  working  upon  the  fears  and  foi- 
bles of  the  people,  they  drew  them  away  in  large  num- 
bers from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel.  The  apostasy 
was  as  sudden  and  as  enthusiastic  as  their  original  con- 
version had  been.  It  seemed  to  the  apostle  almost  as  if 
they  had  been  spellbound  by  some  evil  influence  ;  and  as 
he  heard  the  news  of  it  there  was  a  strange  commingling 
and  contending  of  opposing  feelings  within  his  heart. 
Indignation  at  the  troublers ;  sorrow,  surprise,  and  dis- 
pleasure, at  the  conduct  of  his  old  friends ;  yearnings 
after  their  return,  interblended  with  dissatisfaction  at 
their  departure  from  the  faith  ;  scorn  at  the  accusations 
which  had  been  brought  against  himself,  and  deepest 
anguish  at  the  dishonor  which  had  been  done  to  Christ — 
all  were  simultaneously  at  work  within  him.  Out  of  this 
tumult  of  emotions  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  was 
born ;  and  as  we  can  trace  the  marks  of  volcanic  fires  on 
the  rocks  which  some  great  convulsion  has  upheaved,  so 
we  can  clearly  discern  the  effects  of  Paul's  inner  feelings 
in  the  style  and  argument  which  he  has  employed.  It 
has  a  burning  vehemence  peculiar  to  itself.  The  "  ar- 
rows of  its  thoughts"  are  "  headed  and  winged  with 
flame."  It  is  characterized  by  passionate  energy,  scath- 
ing invective,  rapid  movement,  parental  tenderness,  and 
condensed  power.  It  is  logic  on  fire,  and  its  conclusions 
scorch  those  who  refuse  to  be  convinced.  As  Douglas 
of  Cavers  has  admirably  said,  "  The  mind  of  Paul  [in  it] 
is  rapid  as  the  lightning,  and  yet  strikes,  by  its  zigzag 


lo         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS, 

impetuosity,  every  projecting  point  that  approaches  its 
path  ;  and,  still  undelayed  by  these  deflections,  attains 
instantaneously  the  goal."  The  sternness  of  its  reproof, 
however,  as  many  passages  in  it  conclusively  prove,  was 
but  the  other  side  of  love ;  and  even  its  personal  refer- 
ences are  to  be  accounted  for  by  his  longing  for  the  re- 
turn of  those  who  had  gone  back,  by  his  zeal  for  the 
purity  of  the  gospel,  and  by  his  enthusiastic  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  Christian  liberty. 

In  the  order  of  the  development  of  Christian  doctrine, 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  stands  midway  between  the 
second  letter  to  the  Corinthians  and  the  letter  to  the 
Romans.  Indeed,  as  Lightfoot  has  conclusively  estab- 
lished, there  is  the  same  connection  between  the  Epistles 
to  the  Corinthians,  Galatians,  and  Romans,  that  there  is 
between  those  which  have  been  called  the  Epistles  of  the 
Imprisonment.  They  constitute  a  group,  and  they  reach 
their  climax  in  that  greatest  of  all  our  apostle's  writings, 
which  may  be  styled  a  treatise  rather  than  a  letter.  In 
the  second  letter  to  the  Corinthians  we  have  a  personal 
vindication  similar  to  that  which  makes  so  conspicuous 
a  feature  of  the  letter  to  the  Galatians ;  in  both  we  have 
the  same  indignant  denunciation  of  his  antagonists,  with 
the  same  concern  for  the  honor  of  the  Gospel  and  for  the 
restoration  of  the  fallen  ;  while  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  we  have  the  full  elaboration  of  the  argument 
which  is  briefly  epitomized  in  that  to  the  Galatians.  Or 
as  Lightfoot  has  expressed  it  in  his  own  clean-cut  fashion, 
"  To  the  Galatians  the  apostle  flashes  out  in  indignant 
remonstrance  the  first  eager  thoughts  kindled  by  his  zeal 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  ii 

for  the  Gospel  striking  suddenly  against  a  stubborn  form 
of  Judaism.  To  the  Romans  he  writes  at  leisure,  under 
no  pressure  of  circumstances,  in  the  face  of  no  direct 
antagonism,  explaining,  completing,  extending  the  teach- 
ings of  the  earlier  letter,  by  giving  it  a  double  edge 
against  Jew  and  Gentile  alike.  The  matter  which  in  the 
one  Epistle  is  personal  and  fragmentary,  elicited  by  the 
special  needs  of  an  individual  church,  is  in  the  other 
generalized  and  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  comprehensive 
and  systematic  treatise."* 

Proceeding  now  to  the  analysis  of  the  letter  itself,  we 
find  that  it  may  be  easily  divided  into  three  parts :  the 
Pei'sonaly  the  Doctrinal,  and  the  Practical. 

The  Personal  portion  extends  to  the  close  of  the  sec. 
ond  chapter,  and  is  devoted  to  an  establishment  of  his 
apostolical  authority.  So  eager  is  he  to  get  at  his  theme, 
that  in  the  very  salutation  he  calls  himself  an  apostle, 
"  not  of  man,  neither  by  men,"  that  is,  not  of  men's  ap- 
pointment, nor  even  of  the  appointment  of  Jesus  through 
any  human  instrumentality,  but  designated  directly  and 
immediately  by  the  Lord  Jesus  himself.  And  he  proceeds 
to  the  establishment  of  these  assertions  by  affirming  that 
after  his  conversion  he  had  no  communication  whatever 
with  any  of  the  apostles  for  three  years  ;  because  he  went 
immediately  to  Arabia,  and  after  a  while  returned  to  Da- 
mascus, from  which,  at  the  end  of  the  period  I  have  just 
named,  he  went  to  Jerusalem.  But  even  then  he  had  no 
opportunity  of  receiving  any  commission,  for  he  was  only 
fifteen  days  with  Peter,  and  he  saw  none  of  the  other 

*  Lightfoot's  Galatians,  p.  49. 


12  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

apostles  save  James,  the  Lord's  brother.  Indeed,  so  brief 
was  his  sojourn,  that  he  was  unknown  by  face  to  the 
churches  of  Judaea.  The  only  other  occasion  on  which 
at  Jerusalem  he  came  into  contact  with  any  of  the  apos- 
tles was  at  the  meeting  of  what  is  styled  the  Council  of 
Jerusalem.  He  had  indeed  with  Barnabas,  as  we  know 
from  the  narrative  in  the  Acts,  been  at  the  Holy  City 
with  offerings  for  the  poor  saints  in  the  interval  between 
those  two  visits  to  which  he  here  refers  ;  but  that  was  in 
the  very  heat  of  the  Herodian  persecution,  when  in  all 
likelihood  the  apostles  were  absent,  and  he  himself  made 
a  very  limited  stay  ;  therefore,  as  it  is  to  his  purpose  only 
to  mention  his  personal  interviews  with  the  pillars  of  the 
church,  he  leaves  that  altogether  out  of  the  account,  that 
he  might  give  prominence  to  the  fact  that  for  fourteen 
years  he  had  been  preaching  continuously,  recognized 
and  unchallenged  as  an  apostle,  though  he  had  only  spent 
fifteen  days  with  Peter. 

It  may  be  regarded  by  some  persons  as  a  difficulty 
that  Paul  affirms  in  this  letter  that  he  went  up  at  this  time 
to  Jerusalem  by  revelation,  whereas  in  the  narrative  in 
the  Acts  it  is  alleged  that  he  and  Barnabas,  with  certain 
others,  were  deputed  by  the  church  at  Antioch  to  consult 
the  apostles  and  elders  on  the  circumcision  controversy 
which  had  just  arisen.  But  to  this  the  answer  is  obvious, 
for  the  journey  might  be  both  "by  revelation"  and  by 
the  appointment  of  the  church,  since  the  revelation  might 
be  given  either  directly  to  the  church,  or  to  Paul  himself 
after  the  action  of  the  church,  for  the  purpose  of  remov- 
ing any  doubt  which  he  might  have  as  to  the  propriety 


THE  EPIS7XE  TO  THE  GALATIANS,         13 

of  the  proceeding.  We  have  here  one  of  a  class  of  cases 
in  which  the  addition  in  one  account  of  some  particular 
that  is  unmentioned  in  another  is  neither  a  contradiction 
nor  a  discrepancy.  A  week  or  two  ago,  when  I  returned 
to  my  home  from  the  Sabbath  evening  service  in  my 
church,  I  was  told  of  a  great  fire  which  was  raging  in 
Twenty-third  street  in  this  city;  and  when  I  inquired 
into  its  character,  I  was  informed  by  a  member  of  my 
family  that  the  first  account  she  received  from  a  passer- 
by was  that  it  was  a  chair-factory  ;  the  second,  from  an- 
other casual  informant,  was,  that  it  was  an  armory ;  and 
the  third,  from  still  another  witness,  was,  that  it  was  a 
church,  and  she  did  not  know  which  to  believe ;  but 
when  I  opened  my  newspaper  on  the  following  morning, 
I  found  that  it  had  been  all  the  three,  and  that  even  if 
there  had  been  a  fourth  report  that  two  churches  had 
been  destroyed,  that  also  would  have  been  accurate. 
Now  a  case  like  that,  occurring  at  one's  own  doorstep, 
is  a  complete  vindication  of  the  harmonizing  principle 
which  we  have  here  adopted,  and  which  permits  us  to 
believe  that  Paul  went  to  Jerusalem  by  the  appointment 
of  the  brethren  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  fortified  and 
confirmed  by  a  direct  revelation  to  himself  from  the 
Lord. 

Now  on  this  visit  two  things  occurred,  which  proved 
the  independent  apostleship  of  Paul,  and  his  coordinate 
authority  with  James,  Cephas,  and  John.  The  first  was 
his  refusal  to  circumcise  Titus,  a  Gentile  Christian,  who 
was  one  of  his  companions.  The  Judaizing  party  in- 
sisted that  this  Greek  should  be  subjected  to  the  Abra- 


14         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

hamic  rite,  as  a  thing  essential  to  his  salvation  and  his 
standing  in  the  Christian  church ;  but  Paul  "  gave  place 
to  them  by  subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour."  But  so  far 
from  being  repudiated  by  the  other  apostles  for  this 
action,  he  was,  in  a  private  interview  which  he  had  with 
them,  distinctly  recognized  by  them  as  coordinate  with 
themselves,  and  they  came  to  an  understanding  with  him 
that  he  should  go  to  the  Gentiles,  while  they  should  con- 
tinue to  work  among  the  Jews  ;  both  alike  honoring  the 
grace  that  was  given  to  them,  and  giving  to  each  other 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  here  Paul  makes  no  refer- 
ence to  the  public  deliberations  of  the  Council,  or  to  the 
decree  which  was  adopted  by  it,  and  which,  specifying  a 
few  things  from  which  the  Gentiles  were  to  keep  them- 
selves, yet  left  them  free  from  the  yoke  of  the  Jewish  law 
as  a  whole.  But  the  decree  was  the  determination  of 
the  church,  speaking  through  the  apostles  and  elders  and 
brethren  ;  and  Paul  is  arguing  here  throughout  on  his 
own  official  standing  and  position ;  therefore  he  keeps 
himself  rigidly  to  the  matter  in  hand,  and  suffers  no  side 
issue  to  be  raised. 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  that,  passing  all  other 
things,  he  fixes  attention  next  on  his  contention  with 
Peter.  From  the  account  here  given,  it  would  appear 
that,  after  the  discussion  in  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem, 
in  which  it  will  be  remembered  that  he  took  the  ex- 
tremely liberal  side,  and  gave  his  voice  for  leaving  the 
Gentiles  perfectly  free  from  the  yoke  of  the  law,  Peter 
went  down  to  Antioch.     On  his  first  arrival,  and  proba- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  15 

bly  with  the  view  of  showing  that  he  was  in  full  accord 
in  every  respect  with  Paul,  he  ate  with  the  Gentiles  with- 
out scruple.  After  a  while,  however,  certain  Jews  came 
from  James — that  is,  not  necessarily  commissioned  by 
James,  but  from  Jerusalem,  the  place  where  James  was — 
and  then,  fearing  them  that  "  were  of  the  circumcision,"  j 
Peter  withdrew  and  separated  himself.  The  influence  of 
his  example  was  so  serious,  that  all  the  Jews  went  after 
him,  and  even  Barnabas  was  carried  away  with  the  cur- 
rent. We  can  readily  understand  the  case,  especially 
when  we  remember  that  with  all  his  admirable  qualities, 
Peter  was  too  much  a  man  of  impulse,  and  went  fre- 
quently from  one  extreme  to  another.  That  scene  with 
the  Master  upon  the  lake  was  typical  of  the  elder  son  of 
Jonas  throughout  his  career.  He  was  always  the  first  to 
start  out  over  a  sea  of  difficulties  to  meet  his  Lord,  but 
often,  ere  he  reached  Him,  his  fears  overmastered  his 
faith,  and  he  began  to  sink.  It  certainly  was  so  in  this 
instance.  At  first  he  braved  all  opposition  and  despised 
all  prejudice ;  but  the  men  from  Jerusalem  got  round 
him,  and  wrought  upon  his  fears.  They  represented, 
perhaps,  that  a  great  outcry  would  be  made  against  his 
conduct  by  his  friends  in  the  Holy  City ;  that  the  course 
which  he  was  taking  would  create  controversy  and  de- 
velop antagonism  ;  that  it  would  seriously  interfere  with 
his  comfort  and  mar  his  usefulness,  and  that  if  he  had  any 
regard  for  his  own  happiness,  he  should  at  once  retrace 
his  steps.  Thus  they  prevailed  upon  him  to  do  as  they 
desired.  But  in  Paul's  estimation  this  conduct  was  dis- 
simulation.   He  did  not  mean  to  allege,  indeed,  that  Peter 

i3 


1 6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

designed  to  deceive  others,  for  he  imputes  no  motives 
But  he  indicates  that  Peter's  action  was  dissimulation,  in 
the  hteral  sense  of  the  word,  that  is,  an  appearance  of 
being  what  he  really  was  not.  He  had  not  changed  his 
opinions.  He  was  as  sound  in  the  faith  as  he  had  ever 
been.  But  what  Paul  complained  of  was,  that  his  altera- 
tion of  his  conduct  at  that  particular  juncture  was  such 
as  to  convey  the  impression  that  he  had  changed  his  con- 
victions ;  and  feeling  that  something  should  be  done  to 
counteract  the  evil  which  would  otherwise  result,  he  went 
directly  to  his  friend  and  publicly  exposed  the  inconsist- 
ency of  which  he  had  publicly  been  guilty. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood  therefore,  that  Peter's 
error  was  not  one  of  doctrine,  but  of  practice.  Hence, 
they  are  entirely  at  fault  who  bring  up  this  difference 
between  these  two  apostles  as  if  it  disproved  the  inspira- 
tion of  either  or  of  both.  Inspiration  is  one  thing, 
sanctification  is  another.  Both  indeed  are  the  effects  of 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul.  In  the  one  He 
employs  the  powers  of  the  mind  in  the  communication 
of  truth  to  others :  in  the  other  He  operates  on  them 
in  the  formation  of  the  individual's  own  character. 
There  may  be  inspiration  without  sanctification,  as  in 
the  case  of  such  a  one  as  Balaam  ;  and  there  may  be 
sanctification  without  inspiration,  as  in  the  case  of  ordi- 
nary believers.  In  respect  of  inspiration  the  two  apostles 
were  upon  an  equality,  and  the  sermons  and  epistles  of 
Peter  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  discourses  and 
letters  of  Paul.  But  in  respect  of  sanctification  they 
were  different.     Each  had  his  own  distinctive  excellcn- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  17 

ces,  and  each  his  own  characteristic  defects.  One  of 
the  failings  of  Peter,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  hasty  im- 
pulsiveness, which  sometimes  made  him  the  first  in 
noble  daring,  and  occasionally  led  him  to  act  with  start- 
ling inconsistency.  But  his  convictions  were  right ; 
and  it  was  his  knowledge  of  that  fact  that  led  Paul  to 
expostulate  with  him  in  the  address  which  is  here  epit- 
omized, and  which  presents  the  finest  possible  combina- 
tion of  firmness  with  delicacy,  and  of  faithfulness  with 
affection.  It  would  well  repay  the  most  minute  consid- 
eration ;  but  I  must  be  content  with  setting  before  you 
the  substance  of  the  appeal  which  it  makes,  and  while  I 
do  so  you  will  perceive  that  Paul  by  introducing  it  here 
is  at  once  vindicating  his  own  apostleship,  and  presenting 
a  most  cogent  argument  against  the  reasoning  of  the 
Judaizers,  which  it  is  the  main  design  of  this  letter  to 
refute.  Fitly  therefore,  does  it  form  the  point  of  transi- 
tion from  the  personal  to  the  doctrinal  section  of  the 
Epistle. 

I!  is  something  like  the  following :  If  you  who  are  a 
Jew  by  birth,  and  therefore  have  been  brought  up  under 
the  law  of  Moses,  feel  yourself  at  liberty  to  disregard  its 
prohibitions  and  to  live  as  you  were  doing  a  little  while 
ago  after  the  manner  of  the  Gentiles,  it  is  absurd  in  you 
to  oblige  the  Gentiles  to  conform  in  everything  to  the 
Mosaic  institutes.  You  do  not,  indeed,  insist  on  that 
in  so  many  words  ;  but  still  the  natural  inference  from 
your  present  withdrawal  from  the  Gentile  Christians,  is 
that  you  have  now  come  to  believe  that  circumcision  is 
essential  to  salvation.     For  this  is  not  a  case  of  conform- 


1 8         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS, 

ing  to  the  wishes  of  a  weak  brother ;  it  is  a  complying 
with  the  demands  of  those  who  say  "  Except  ye  be  cir- 
cumcised after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  can  not  be  saved." 
Now  observe  how  your  conduct  affects  the  fundamental 
i:)rinciples  of  the  gospel.  We  who  are  Jews,  having  be- 
come convinced  that  we  could  not  be  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  have  sought  salvation  through  faith  in 
Christ ;  but  if  in  so  doing  we  are  after  all  found  to  be 
transgressors,  because  we  have  wilfully  neglected  the 
law  as  an  appointed  means  of  salvation,  then  it  must 
follow  that  Christ,  who  taught  us  to  neglect  it  in  that 
relation,  has  been  to  us  the  minister  of  sin.  That  is  a 
conclusion,  from  which  of  course  you  will  shrink  with 
horror ;  still  you  must  be  prepared  to  face  it,  or  you 
must  admit  that  by  your  present  conduct  you  have  made 
yourself  a  transgressor.  There  is  transgression  some- 
where. If  you  were  wrong  before  in  eating  with  the 
Gentiles,  then  as  you  did  that  under  the  direct  command 
of  the  Lord  given  to  you  in  a  vision,  he  Avas  to  you  the 
minister  of  sin.  But  if  you  were  right  before,  then  you 
are  wrong  now,  and  you  are  yourself  the  transgressor. 
If  you  were  right  in  destroying  then  it  is  clear  that  you 
make  yourself  a  transgressor  by  building  up  again  the 
things  which  you  had  formally  thrown  down.  There  is 
no  other  alternative.  By  your  present  conduct  you  are 
either  making  Christ  the  minister  of  sin,  or  making  your- 
self a  transgressor ;  and  when  the  matter  is  put  thus,  I 
know  well  what  will  be  your  answer.  For  indeed  your 
experience  and  my  own  are  here  identical,  and  I  through 
the  law  am  dead  to  the  law.     Its  condemnation  killed 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS,         19 

me.  But  Christ  killed  it ;  and  delivered  me,  yet  not  to 
lawlessness  but  rather  to  love,  that  I  might  live  unto 
God ;  and  such  is  my  union  to  him,  that  I  am  crucified 
with  him,  yet  I  live,  but  after  all  it  is  not  I  that  live,  but 
he  that  liveth  in  me.  Thus  I  do  not  make  the  grace  of 
God  unnecessary,  as  I  certainly  should  do  if  I  were  to  go 
back  to  the  law  for  salvation ;  for  if  it  were  possible  to 
obtain  righteousness  by  the  law,  then  there  was  no  need 
for  the  death  of  Christ,  and  he  was  sacrificed  in  vain. 

There  is  nothing  said  anywhere  as  to  how  Peter  re- 
ceived this  admonition  ;  but  from  what  we  know  of  his 
character  and  temperament,  we  may  conclude  that  he 
frankly  owned  his  error ;  and  we  are  sure  that  no  root  of 
bitterness  was  left  by  it  to  spring  up  and  trouble  the  heart 
of  the  apostle  of  the  circumcision,  for  long  after  he  writes 
of  his  censor  as  "  our  beloved  brother  Paul." 

The  sum  of  this  personal  apologia  then  is,  that  after 
his  conversion  Paul  received  no  instruction  in  the  gospel 
from  any  of  the  apostles,  and  was  not  commissioned  by 
men  ;  that  he  had  only  seen  Peter  for  fifteen  days  in 
fourteen  years — and  that  three  years  after  he  had  been 
commissioned  by  Christ  himself;  that  when  he  had  met 
the  apostles  in  conference  at  Jerusalem,  he  had  done  so 
as  an  equal ;  and  that  at  Antioch  he  had  stood  up  suc- 
cessfully against  the  leading  apostle,  in  defence  of  the 
liberty  of  the  Gospel ;  therefore  it  could  not  be  said  with 
any  truth,  that  he  was  a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest 
apostles. 

But  before  proceeding  to  the  second  division  of  the 
Epistle,  it  may  be  well  to  see  how  many  facts  in  the  his- 


iG 


20         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

tory  of  Paul,  additional  to  those  which  are  elsewhere 
furnished  to  us,  are  brought  out  here ;  and  to  mark  how, 
though  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  course  of  this 
argument,  they  fit  into  the  other  records,  in  a  manner 
which  proves  at  once  the  independence  of  the  separate 
narratives  and  the  truthfulness  of  them  both.  Perhaps 
no  portion  of  Paley's  admirable  work  (Horas  Paulinse) 
is  so  rich  in  undesigned  coincidences  as  that  which 
he  has  devoted  to  this  Epistle ;  and  as  a  specimen  of 
the  argument  of  a  book  which  I  fear  is  too  much  neg- 
lected in  these  days,  but  which  is  of  inestimable  and 
perennial  value,  I  will  direct  your  attention  to  one  or 
two  of  the  points  which  he  makes.  We  are  indebted  to 
this  letter  for  the  information  that  Paul  went  from  Da- 
mascus into  Arabia;  now  see  how  Paley  makes  this 
establish  the  independence  of  the  Acts  and  the  Epistle, 
in  this  convincing  style  :  "  If  the  narrative  in  the  Acts 
had  been  made  up  from  the  Epistle,  it  is  impossible  that 
this  journey  should  have  been  passed  over  in  silence  ; 
if  the  Epistle  had  been  composed  out  of  what  the  author 
had  read  of  Paul's  history  in  the  Acts,  it  is  unaccount- 
able that  it  should  have  been  inserted."  Bearing  in 
mind  then  this  evidence  of  the  fact  that  these  two  wri- 
tings, the  Acts  and  the  Epistles,  come  from  independent 
sources,  see  how  they  confirm  each  other.  The  history 
tells  us  that  Paul  was  "  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel, and  taught  according  to  the  perfect  manner  of  the 
law  of  the  fathers,  and  was  zealous  toward  God  ;"  the 
Epistle  says,  "  I  profited  in  the  Jews'  religion  above 
many  my  equals  in  mine  own  nation,  being  more  exceed- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  21 

ingly  zealous  of  the  traditions  of  my  fathers."  The  his- 
tory affirms  that  "  Saul  made  havoc  in  the  church ;"  in 
the  Epistle  he  confesses  "  that  beyond  measure  he  per- 
secuted the  church  and  wasted  it."  The  history  records 
that  he  was  converted  on  the  way  to  Damascus  and  went 
immediately  into  that  city;  the  Epistle  says,  "I  went 
into  Arabia  and  returned  again  unto  Damascus."  Now 
if  you  recollect  that  in  the  Epistle  Damascus  has  not 
been  before  named,  and  is  only  now  brought  in  incident- 
tally  to  give  an  accurate  description  of  his  return  journey, 
you  will  agree  with  Paley  when  he  says,  "  Nothing  can 
be  more  like  simplicity  and  undesignedness  than  this." 
Again  the  shortness  of  Paul's  stay  with  Peter  in  Jerusa- 
alem  fits  in  with  the  words  which  were  heard  by  Paul 
while  he  was  praying  in  the  temple  and  which  the  his- 
torian has  preserved:  "Make  haste!  get  thee  quickly  out 
of  Jerusalem,  for  they  will  not  receive  thy  testimony  con- 
cerning me."  Thus  the  words  of  one  book  are  seen  to  be 
in  incidental  conformity  with  a  specification  delivered  in 
another  book,  "a  species  of  consistency,"  says  Paley, 
"  not,  I  think,  usually  found  in  fabulous  relations." 

The  Doctrinal  division  of  the  Epistle  begins  with  the 
opening  of  the  third  chapter,  and  extends  to  the  close  of 
the  fourth  ;  and  the  transition  to  it  is  made  both  natu- 
rally and  easily  from  the  experimental  reference  with 
which  the  first  portion  concludes.  The  apostle  has 
affirmed  that  if  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  Christ  is 
dead  in  vain ;  and,  remembering  with  what  distinctness  he 
had  set  the  Lord  before  their  eyes  as  evidently  crucified 
among  them,  he  appeals  to  them  whether  they  had  re- 


2  2         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

ceived  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Spirit  in  connection 
with  their  submission  to  the  law,  or  with  the  hearing  of 
faith.  He  knew  what  their  answer  must  be ;  for  their 
beginning  had  been  in  the  spirit ;  but  if  now  they  were 
to  be  made  perfect  by  the  fiesh,  then  over  and  above  the 
absurdity  of  such  an  anti-climax  they  stultified  them- 
selves, for  all  the  persecutions  which  they  had  endured 
at  the  hands  of  the  Jews  had  been  in  vain,  and  they  had 
made  themselves  martyrs  by  mistake.  Then,  as  in  a 
later  day  Luther  went  behind  the  Fathers  who  were 
quoted  in  support  of  justification  by  works,  to  the  grand- 
fathers, as  he  called  the  apostles,  who  proclaimed  justi- 
fication by  faith,  so  Paul  here  goes  back  beyond  the  law 
to  Abraham,  who  "  believed  God  and  it  was  accounted 
unto  him  for  righteousness,"  and  affirms  that  the  true 
spiritual  descendants  of  Abraham  are  those  who  are 
seeking  salvation  by  faith.  He  alleges  that  the  promise 
made  to  Abraham,  "  in  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed," 
was  the  gospel  in  germ  ;  that  thus  the  gospel  came 
before  the  law,  and  that  its  blessing  now,  as  in  the  days 
of  Abraham,  was  to  be  obtained  through  faith.  It  was 
indeed  true  that  the  law  was  not  of  faith  ;  for  its  founda- 
tion principle  was  this  :  "  The  man  that  doeth  them  shall 
live  in  them."  But  there  was  no  salvation  in  that ;  for 
they  could  not  keep  the  precepts  of  the  law,  and  so  the 
only  effect  of  their  attempt  would  be  to  bring  them 
under  its  curse  ;  for  it  is  written,  *'  Cursed  is  every  one 
that  continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  Indeed,  it  was  to  redeem 
us  from  that  curse  that  Christ  had  condescended  to  be 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.         23 

made  a  curse  for  us  in  giving  himself  up  to  crucifixion 
on  our  behalf,  and  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  bless- 
ing of  Abraham  is  enjoyed  by  the  Gentiles  through  Jesus 
Christ ;  for  they  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
through  faith. 

To  all  this  it  might  perhaps  be  answered,  that  as 
the  law  came  after  the  promise  it  virtually  annulled  it ; 
but  there  is  no  force  in  that  objection,  for  the  covenant  of 
God  stands  through  all  generations,  and  is  not  affected 
by  anything  that  came  after  it ;  and,  as  that  covenant 
gave  the  inheritance  by  promise,  the  law  could  not  take 
it  back.  The  law  was  given  by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a 
mediator,  even  Moses,  who  represented  not  only  the 
people  before  God,  but  also  God  before  the  people :  for 
a  mediator  is  not  a  mediator  of  one,  but  of  two  parties ; 
and  as  in  this  case  one  of  the  parties  is  God,  who  is  un- 
changeably faithful  to  all  his  promises,  it  follows  that 
the  law,  to  the  covenant  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
parties,  could  not  be  a  retraction  of  the  promise. 

But  if  this  be  so,  some  one  will  ask  what  was  the  use 
of  the  law }  It  was  added,  replies  Paul,  because  of  the 
liability  of  the  people  to  transgressions,  and  its  purpose 
was  to  keep  them  under  due  restraint  until  the  coming 
of  that  seed  of  whom  God  in  the  promise  spake  to 
Abraham.  The  law  was  the  paedagogue,  or  slave  that 
kept  the  child  in  its  minority  under  strict  surveillance 
until  the  coming  of  Christ ;  but  when  Christ  came,  the 
office  of  the  paedagogue  was  at  an  end,  and  the  boy 
passed  from  minority  to  manhood,  from  the  position  of  a 
child  under  a  guardian  to  that  of  a  full-grown  son.     The 


24         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

law  served  for  a  disciplinary  restraint  until  Christ  came  ; 
but  when  he  appeared  the  restraint  was  thrown  down  ; 
and  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike  were  introduced  by  him  into 
the  status  of  full-grown  sons  of  God,  or  into  what  the 
apostle  has  elsewhere  called  "  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God"  by  faith.  Thus  speaking  from  the  Jew- 
ish standpoint,  to  go  back  from  the  gospel  to  the, law  was 
as  foolish  as  it  would  be  for  the  heir  who  had  attained 
full  possession  of  a  large  inheritance  at  his  majority,  to 
abjure  it  and  the  liberty  of  its  enjoyment,  and  voluntarily 
return  to  the  position  of  a  minor,  by  placing  himself 
under  his  old  tutors  and  governors.  And  though  the 
Gentiles  among  them  had  never  come  under  the  Jewish 
law,  yet  the  same  principles  applied  to  their  old  heathen- 
ism, which,  however  degraded  it  had  been,  was,  equally 
with  Judaism,  a  system  of  restraint,  and  had  this  in  com- 
mon with  it,  that,  as  a  ritual,  it  was  made  up  of  precepts 
and  ordinances,  and  so  was  a  system  of  law  as  opposed 
to  grace.  Therefore,  even  for  those  of  them  who  had 
been  Gentiles,  the  adoption  of  the  Jewish  law  would  be 
a  going  back  to  a  rudimentary  bondage  to  elements 
which,  though  far  from  being  so  rude  and  low  as  heathen- 
ism was,  were  yet  in  themselves  weak  and  beggarly  as 
every  merely  ritualistic  system  must  be,  now  that  Christ 
has  absorbed  the  spirituality  that  was  in  them  all. 

At  this  point  of  his  argument  the  apostle  breaks  off 
into  an  earnest  and  affectionate  appeal  to  his  readers  in 
which  an  effective  contrast  is  drawn  between  their  first 
reception  of  him  when  he  preached  to  them  in  weakness, 
and  their  altered  feelings   toward  him   now   that   they 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.         25 

seemed  to  regard  him  as  their  enemy  because  he  had 
told  them  the  truth.  He  affirms  that  his  attachment  to 
them  is  unabated,  and  beseeches  them,  as  his  Uttle  chil- 
dren of  whom  he  travailed  in  birth  again  until  Christ  be 
formed  in  them,  that  they  should  return  to  their  first  love. 
Then  knowing  the  allegorical  use  which  his  antagonists 
made  of  many  portions  of  the  law,  he  turned  their  own 
weapons  against  themselves,  by  taking  the  history  of 
Isaac  and  Ishmael  as  an  illustration  both  parabolical  and 
prophetical  of  the  argument  which  he  had  just  enforced. 
The  sons  of  Abraham  were  two :  the  one,  Ishmael,  was 
of  the  bond  woman  Hagar,  and  was  of  the  flesh ;  the 
other,  Isaac,  was  of  the  free  woman  Sarah,  and  was  by 
promise ;  but  Ishmael  and  his  mother  were  cast  out  and 
Isaac  and  his  mother  were  retained,  according  to  the 
command,  "  Cast  out  the  bondwoman  and  her  son  ;  for 
the  son  of  the  bondwoman  shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son 
of  the  free  woman."  Now  the  spiritual  analogues  to 
these  historical  yet  typical  characters  are  as  follows. 
Hagar  represents  the  Sinaitic  covenant,  that  of  the  law, 
and  has  her  issue  in  the  earthly  Jerusalem,  which  is  in 
spiritual  bondage  with  her  children.  Sarah  represents 
the  covenant  of  promise,  and  issues  in  the  heavenly  Je- 
rusalem, that  city  of  which  even  now  the  Christian  is  a 
denizen,  and  which  is  the  home  of  spiritual  freedom. 
Thus  the  difference  between  Paul  and  the  Judaizers  was 
that  while  they  both  alike  traced  their  parentage  to 
Abraham,  he  claimed  to  be  a  son  of  the  free  woman  and 
they  were  the  sons  of  the  slave.  He  was  a  child  of 
promise,  and  they  were  children  of  the  flesh  ;  and  that 


26  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

accounted  perfectly  for  their  antagonism  to  him  ;  for  just 
as  Ishmael  mocked  Sarah  and  Isaac  and  he  that  was 
born  after  the  flesh  persecuted  him  that  was  born  after 
the  spirit,  even  so  it  is  now.  Thus  even  their  opposition 
to  him  made  it  only  the  more  apparent  that  he  and  his 
adherents  were  not  the  children  of  the  bondwoman  but 
of  the  free. 

The  argument  of  this  portion  of  the  Epistle  turns  on 
the  use  of  the  law,  and  it  is  needful  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  it  that  we  clearly  perceive  the  meaning  which 
here  belongs  to  the  term  "  adoption,"  when  it  is  said  that 
Christ  came  "  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  Usually 
adoption  denotes  the  reception  of  a  stranger  into  the 
family  as  a  son  ;  but  here  it  is  the  elevation  to  the  status 
of  full-grown  sonship,  of  those  who  having  been  children 
from  the  first,  were  up  till  that  time  under  the  charge 
of  tutors  and  governors  ;  and  so  the  view  which  he  gives 
of  the  law  is  that  of  restraint,  rather  than  of  education. 
It  is  true  that  elsewhere  he  speaks  of  the  law  as  having 
been  of  signal  service  in  the  religious  training  of  the 
people,  and  our  translation,  by  giving  the  rendering  here, 
that  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  "  to  bring  tis  to  Christ,'* 
would  seem  to  favor  the  idea  that  he  lays  stress  on  that 
aspect  of  it  in  this  Epistle.  But  the  office  of  the  paeda- 
gogue  was  one  of  control  rather  than  of  instruction,  and 
the  proper  translation,  as  is  made  evident  from  his  con- 
trast later  on  between  the  heir  as  a  servant  and  as  a  son, 
ought  to  be  "  the  law  was  our  paedagogue  until  Christ." 
Hence,  when  Christ  came  the  occupation  of  the  law  was 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.         27 

gone.  There  was  no  further  need  for  its  operation,  and 
they  who  were  set  free  from  it  came  under  the  higher 
principle  of  love.  They  were  absolved  from  the  control 
of  minute  restrictions,  only  however  to  give  free  play  to 
the  strength  of  their  filial  affection  as  the  full-grown 
sons  of  God. 

So  when  he  proceeds  to  the  Practical  part  of  his  let- 
ter in  the  fifth  chapter  and  bids  his  readers  stand  fast 
in  their  liberty,  he  is  careful  to  distinguish  between  lib- 
erty and  license;  and  warns  them  against  using  it  for  an 
occasion  to  the  flesh.  He  contrasts  the  works  of  the 
flesh  with  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit ;  and  after  an  enumera- 
ation  of  evils,  each  of  which  is  in  itself  an  indication  that 
the  individual  guilty  of  it  is  still  carnally-minded,  he 
holds  up  to  admiration  the  one  grape-cluster  of  Christian 
graces,  which  is  the  Eshcol  earnest  of  the  heavenly  in- 
heritance ;  and  the  presence  of  which  not  in  single  vir- 
tues, but  in  a  group,  is  needed  in  order  to  authenticate  it 
as  the  result  of  the  Spirit's  work. 

Then,  after  brief  but  pointed  exhortations  to  mutual 
burden-bearing,  to  liberality  and  to  unflagging  perseve- 
rance, he  sums  up  in  a  few  comprehensive  sentences, 
each  of  which,  like  Luther's  words  long  after,  is  in 
itself  a  "  half-battle."  He  bids  them  take  note  of  his 
affectionate  solicitude  for  them,  as  manifested  in  the  fact 
that  he  had  written  to  them,  not  through  an  amanuensis 
as  usual,  but  with  his  own  hand  ;  and  they  might  see 
how  much  that  effort  cost  him,  when  they  looked  upon 
the  large  letters  which,  owing  to  his  infirmity,  he  had 
been  compelled  to  make.     He  contrasts  the  conduct  of 

17 


28         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

the  Judaizers,  whose  desire  was  only  to  glory  in  external 
ordinances,  with  his  absorbing  purpose  to  glory  only  in 
the  cross  of  Christ.  He  asserts  that  the  one  grand  in- 
dispensable thing  is,  not  to  be  circumcised,  but  to  be 
created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  alluding  to  the  fact 
that  the  ownership  of  a  slave  was  attested  by  the  brands 
which  had  been  burned  into  his  flesh,  he  declares  that 
he  carries  with  him  the  evidence  of  his  apostleship  in 
the  scars  of  persecution  with  which  he  was  marked. 
"  From  henceforth,  let  no  man  trouble  me,  for  I  bear 
in  my  body  the  marks,"  or  stigmata,  "of  the  Lord  Jesus." 
Then,  calling  them  once  more  by  the  endearing  name 
of  "  Brethren,"  he  concludes  as  usual  with  a  benedic- 
tion. 

Such  is  a  brief  analysis  of  this  unique  Epistle.  We 
cannot  tell  what  effect  it  produced  upon  the  churches  to 
whom  it  was  primarily  addressed.  But  many  centuries 
later,  when  the  truths  which  it  contends  for  had  been 
buried  under  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Papal 
church,  the  exposition  of  this  portion  of  Scripture  by 
Martin  Luther  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  agencies 
in  giving  depth  and  breadth  and  permanence  to  the 
Reformation  with  which  the  name  of  the  German  preach- 
er is  imperishably  associated.  And  now  in  our  times, 
when  many  among  us  are  seeking  to  give  undue  promi- 
nence to  ritual  observances,  the  principles  which  it  en- 
forces have  come  again  into  importance,  so  that  its  study 
is  incumbent  upon  all  who  would  make  themselves  men 
who  have  "  understanding  of  the  times,  to  know  what  Is- 
rael ought  to  do."  For  what  is  true  of  circumcision,  which 


THE  EPISTLE  TV  THE  GALATIANS.         29 

was  the  ordinance  of  the  old  covenant,  is  just  as  true  of 
baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  which  are  the  ordinances 
of  the  new.  Everything  which  in  any  degree  would  tend 
to  make  the  cross  of  Christ  of  non-effect  ;  everything 
which  would  lead  men  to  glory  in  an  external  rite,  rather 
than  in  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  everything  which 
would  exalt  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  above  that 
faith  which  worketh  by  love,  and  make  them  of  more 
importauce  than  the  new  creation  which  is  the  result  of 
the  work  of  God's  Spirit  upon  the  soul,  is  to  be  resisted 
with  an  energy  as  intense  and  a  zeal  as  vehement  and 
an  earnestness  as  sublime  as  those  which  Paul  manifest- 
ed  in  the  instance  of  the  Galatian  apostasy.  When  men, 
anywhere,  insist  on  something  as  essential  to  salvation, 
other  than  that  faith  in  Christ  which  has  received  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit,  we  are  to  give  place  by  subjection, 
no,  not  for  an  hour,  that  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  may  con- 
tinue with  us.  Nay  more  ;  if  the  inconsistency  of  one 
who  is  recognized  as  a  pillar  of  the  church  should  seem 
to  lend  the  influence  of  his  name  to  error,  we  are  to  with- 
stand him  to  the  face.  We  are  to  make  the  cross  of 
Christ  the  touchstone  and  test  of  every  novelty  in  re- 
ligion ;  and  if  the  necessity  of  that  is  repudiated,  or  its 
efficiency  denied,  then  no  considerations  of  a  personal 
character  are  to  prevent  us  from  opposing  the  innova- 
tor with  all  our  might.  The  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and 
the  honor  of  the  cross,  are  to  be  dearer  to  us  than  all 
else  ;  and  however  tolerant  we  may  be  in  regard  to  minor 
matters,  however  much  like  Paul  himself  we  may  seek 
to  become  "  all  things  to  all  men,"  we  are  to  be  firm  and 


30  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATJANS. 

resolute  and  uncompromising  here — not  scrupling  even  to 
use  the  language  of  the  apostle,  "  though  we,  or  an  angel 
from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel,  let  him  be  anathe- 
ma." The  danger  of  our  day,  unless  I  greatly  misread 
the  indications  of  the  spiritual  barometer,  lies  just  here. 
In  our  zeal  for  liberality  we  are  becoming  latitudinarian, 
and  forgetting  that  there  is  a  point  where  intolerance  is 
necessary  in  order  to  the  very  preservation  of  liberty. 
This  letter  was  written  in  the  interests  of  freedom.  Its 
conclusion  is,  *'  Stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
has  made  us  free ;"  and  yet,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
maintaining  that  liberty,  Paul  here  hurls  his  anathema 
at  the  Judaizers'  heads.  Let  us  not  forget,  therefore, 
that  there  is  an  intolerance  in  the  Gospel  as  well  a  tol- 
eration. We  may,  and  we  ought,  to  exercise  the  fullest 
forbearance  in  regard  to  minor  matters ;  but  there  must 
be  no  toleration  of  treason  to  the  cross  ;  for  the  tolera- 
tion of  such  treason  is  always  treachery.  I  say  not, 
indeed,  that  all  such  errors  should  be  put  down  by  force. 
God  forbid.  But  I  do  say  that  they  should  be  denounced 
by  every  loyal  servant  of  the  Lord,  and  that  the  church 
should  absolve  itself  from  all  complicity  with  the  errorists. 
And  though  there  be  many  who  would  cry  out  against 
such  a  course  as  bigoted,  I  would  rather,  even  in  the  in- 
terests of  freedom  itself,  have,  if  you  choose  to  call  it  so, 
the  bigotry  of  Paul,  than  the  indifference  of  him  who 
counts  nothing  essential,  and  who  is  "everything  by 
turns  and  nothing  long."  Luther  was  no  foe  to  freedom  ; 
and  in  the  proportion  in  which  like  him  we  are  intoler- 
ant of  everything  that  compromises  the  honor  of  Christ 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS.  31 

or  the  doctrine  of  his  cross,  we  shall  conserve  and  widen 
the  liberty  which  he  did  so  much  to  secure.  So  let  us 
raise  anew  the  shout  of  Paul,  making  it  our  motto,  not 
for  the  moment  of  enthusiasm  merely,  but  for  all  our 
lives.  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified 
unto  me  and  I  unto  the  world." 


>7* 


THE 


Epistle  to  the  Philippians 


BY  REV.  MARVIN  R.   VINCENT,  D,  D., 

NEW  YORK. 


THE 


Epistle  to  the  Philippians, 


On  a  spring  day  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  6i,  the 
crowd  of  idlers  who  usually  were  found  lounging  on  the 
quay  at  Puteoli  might  have  been  seen  watching  an  ap^ 
proaching  vessel.  The  words,  "An  Alexandrian  corn- 
ship,"  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  From  the  sheltered 
nook  in  the  north  of  the  Bay  of  Naples,  where  lay  Pute- 
oli, the  Liverpool  of  Rome,  the  loungers  could  see  the 
vessel  as  she  came  up  between  the  island  of  Capri  and 
the  Minervan  cape,  and  would  recognize  her  character 
from  her  not  striking  her  topsails  as  other  vessels  were 
compelled  to  do  on  entering  the  bay.  She  swept  past 
the  lighthouse  on  the  end  of  the  mole,  of  which  seven- 
teen arches  may  still  be  seen  by  the  modern  tourist ;  and 
as  the  throng  buzzed  round  the  landing-place,  eager  to 
catch  a  sight  of  her  passengers  and  to  pick  up  scraps  of 
news  from  Africa,  they  met,  passing  to  the  shore,  a  cen- 
turion and  some  soldiers  having  in  charge  prisoners  for 
Rome.  Perhaps  few  noticed  among  these  unfortunates 
a  somewhat  undersized  man  with  keen,  aquiline  features, 


4         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

an  oval  face  shaded  with  gray  hair,  bushy  eyebrows, 
pointed  beard,  worn  and  travel-stained,  as  if  from  a  long 
and  hard  journey. 

It  was  thus  that  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
made  his  first  appearance  in  Italy — a  prisoner.  Assault- 
ed by  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  Paul  had  put  himself  as  a 
Roman  citizen  under  the  protection  of  Claudius  Lysias, 
the  commandant  of  the  Roman  garrison,  and  had  been 
sent  by  him  to  Felix,  the  procurator  of  Judaea,  whose 
headquarters  were  at  Caesarea. 

Here  Paul  had  been  detained  for  two  years,  appear- 
insr  meanwhile  before  Felix  and  his  successor  Festus, 
and  again  before  Herod  Agrippa  II.,  then  king  of  Chal- 
cis,  during  his  complimentary  visit  to  the  new  governor. 
Festus  having  desired  Paul  to  go  back  to  Jerusalem  and 
be  tried  under  his  protection,  Paul  refused,  falling  back 
on  his  right  as  a  Roman  citizen  to  appeal  to  the  em- 
peror. 

The  governor  thus  had  no  alternative  but  to  send 
him  to  Rome  under  guard.  The  journey  was  made  by 
sea,  and  involved  the  memorable  shipwreck  at  Malta  ; 
and  it  is  at  the  end  of  this  journey  that  we  now  meet  the 
apostle  at  Puteoli. 

Time  forbids  us  to  follow  him  along  the  Appian  Way 
to  the  metropolis.  Once  in  Rome,  he  became  the  sub- 
ject of  "the  law's  delay."  The  official  documents  in  his 
case  had  probably  been  lost  in  the  shipwreck,  and  it 
would  be  long  before  duplicates  could  be  obtained.  The 
prosecutor  and  witnesses  had  to  be  brought  from  Syria 
to  Italy,  a  tedious  and  perilous  journey.     Nero  the  em- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.         5 

peror  was  full  of  caprice,  and  so  averse  to  business  that 
it  was  only  at  rare  intervals  that  he  could  be  persuaded 
to  hear  a  suit  and  pronounce  a  verdict. 

Thus  began  another  confinement  of  two  years,  yet 
not  a  season  of  idleness,  as  we  shall  soon  see  ;  and  in 
order  that  we  may  understand  some  of  the  points  at 
which  Paul's  activity  was  brought  to  bear,  and  to  which 
reference  is  made  in  the  epistle  under  consideration,  we 
must  glance  at  certain  of  the  elements  of  Roman  society 
with  which  the  apostle  found  himself  in  contact. 

And,  first,  there  were  the  Jews.  In  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  Acts  we  are  told  that  Paul,  three  days 
after  his  arrival,  called  the  chief  of  the  Jews  together,  and 
strove  to  disabuse  them  of  the  unfavorable  impression 
respecting  himself  which  he  naturally  supposed  that  the 
Asiatic  Jews  would  have  endeavored  to  create  among 
them  in  advance  of  his  arrival ;  and  that,  on  a  subse- 
quent day,  he  defended  and  expounded  the  gospel  in 
their  hearing.  The  Jews  formed  a  very  large  and  influ^ 
ential  community  in  Rome.  In  such  numbers  had  they, 
with  other  Orientals,  poured  into  the  city,  that  a  contem- 
porary poet  represented  their  influx  by  the  metaphor  of 
the  Syrian  river  Orontes  pouring  itself  into  the  Roman 
Tiber.  The  draught  upon  the  specie  of  the  city,  made 
by  the  annual  payment  by  each  Jew  of  about  twenty-five 
cents  towards  the  expenses  of  the  temple,  was  so  great 
as  to  cause  complaint.  They  were  feared  and  hated,  yet 
they  stood  high  in  the  favor  of  the  government.  Jewish 
slaves  and  freedmen  rose  to  influence  in  patrician  house- 
holds, and  Jewish  names  are  still  found  in  the  aristo- 


6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS, 

cratic  burial-places  on  the  Appian  road.  Their  assem- 
blies were  countenanced,  their  temples  received  gifts 
from  the  emperor,  and  they  were  admitted  to  share  in 
the  public  distribution  of  corn.  Not  only  this,  but  their 
faith  became  fashionable.  The  religious  dilettanti  of 
Rome  affected  Judaism,  and  professed  to  honor  the  name 
of  Moses  and  the  sacred  books.  Poppaea,  Nero's  con- 
sort, than  whom  no  viler  creature  ever  disgraced  a  throne 
or  dishonored  a  home,  was  their  patroness  ;  and  so  suc- 
cessful were  they  in  the  work  of  proselyting  Greeks  and 
Romans,  that  Seneca,  Nero's  tutor,  said,  "  the  Jewish 
faith  is  now  received  on  every  hand.  The  conquered 
have  given  laws  to  the  conquerors."  It  was  among  these, 
as  we  shall  presently  see,  that  the  "envy  and  strife"  and 
the  attempt  "to  add  affliction"  to  Paul's  bonds  (1:15) 
were  chiefly  nourished.  From  them  came  the  "  dogs," 
the  "  evil  workers,"  "  the  concision,"  to  whom  he  alludes 
in  chap.  3:2. 

2d.  There  were  the  Christians.  In  ch.  i :  14  refer- 
ence is  made  to  "  the  brethren,"  and  in  4  :  22  to  "  the 
saints,"  especially  "  they  of  Caesar's  household."  In  Acts 
28 :  14  we  read  that,  on  landing  at  Puteoli,  on  his  way  to 
Rome,  the  apostle  found  a  Christian  community  evident- 
ly in  intimate  relations  with  the  church  at  Rome,  since 
they  communicated  Paul's  arrival  to  it,  and  called  out 
the  deputation  which  met  him  at  Appii  Forum.  There 
was,  then,  a  church  at  Rome  when  Paul  arrived  there ; 
not  organized,  indeed,  but  numerous,  since,  three  years 
before  his  arrival,  he  had  addressed  to  the  Roman  Chris- 
tians the  most  important  of  his  EpistleS;  in  which  he 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIFFIANS.          7 

sends  salutations  to  more  persons  than  in  any  other. 
We  know  very  little  about  its  members,  but  the  pre- 
sumption is  that  they  belonged  mostly  to  lower  social 
grades,  yet  were  not  for  that  reason  altogether  without 
influence.  Every  student  of  Roman  history  knows  what 
a  large  and  often  terrible  part  was  played  by  petted  ser-  ^ 
vants  of  the  imperial  households,  and  what  multitudes 
of  them  were  required  not  only  to  minister  to  the  sensu- 
ality and  luxury  of  their  royal  masters,  but  also  to  serve 
their  intellectual  demands.  Hence  among  the  servants, 
the  freedmen,  even  the  slaves  of  Caesar's  household,  one 
might  easily  come  into  contact  with  secretaries,  profes- 
sors, physicians,  and  philosophers.  Singularly  enough 
there  was  discovered  some  years  since  a  burying-  place 
belonging  to  the  emperor  just  preceding  Nero,  a  sepul- 
chre of  the  kind  known  as  a  "  columbarium,"  or  dovecot, 
because  its  walls  were  lined  with  pigeon-holes  for  the 
reception  of  little  caskets  containing  the  ashes  of  the 
dead.  In  this  were  found  many  of  the  identical  names 
mentioned  in  the  salutations  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans :  Amplias,  Urbanus,  Stachys,  Tryphasna,  and  Try- 
phosa,  with  others.  "  If,"  as  Mr.  Merivale  remarks, 
"  these  are  indeed  the  very  individuals  to  whom  he  sends 
his  salutations,  we  are  authorized  to  conclude  that  the 
faith  as  known  at  Rome  before  his  own  arrival  there  had 
already  made  its  way  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace 
itself."  The  gospel  was  already  heard  among  them  "  of 
Caesar's  household." 

3d.     There   was   the   Pr^torian   Guard.      In   the 

thirteenth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  we  read  or  ought  to 

18 


8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS, 

read,  "my  bonds  in  Christ  are  manifest  throughout  the 
praetorian  guard  and  to  all  others."  The  scene  of  Paul's 
confinement  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  may  have  been 
the  camp  of  the  praetorian  guards,  to  the  northeast  of 
the  city,  outside  the  walls,  which  was  large  enough  to 
have  contained  within  its  precincts  lodgings  for  prisoners 
under  military  custody;  so  that  Paul  could  dwell,  as  we 
are  told  he  did,  (Acts  28:30,)  in  "his  own  hired  house," 
and  yet  have  been  within  the  camp.  These  praetorians 
formed  the  imperial  guard.  They  were  picked  men,  ten 
thousand  in  number,  and  all  of  Italian  birth.  Their  pay 
was  higher  and  their  privileges  greater  than  those  of 
other  troops.  Their  power  was  enormous  and  dangerous. 
Already  they  held  the  empire  in  their  hands,  and  the 
day  came  at  last  when,  having  murdered  their  emperor, 
they  put  the  empire  of  the  world  up  at  auction  on  the 
city  wall  and  knocked  it  down  to  the  highest  bidder. 
Into  the  camp  of  these  haughty,  licentious  troops  the 
apostle  was  thrown,  and  as  each  soldier  took  his  turn  in 
guarding  him,  he  was  chained  to  his  hand.  Hence 
comes  his  frequent  mention  of  his  ''bonds"  in  these 
Epistles,  as  in  Eph.  6 :  20,  where  he  says  "  I  am  an  ambas- 
sador in  bonds,"  using  the  word  which  means  the  coup- 
ling chain.  Relieving  one  another  in  the  duty  of  mount- 
ing guard,  the  members  of  the  corps  would  come  suc- 
cessively into  personal  contact  with  the  apostle;  so  that 
it  is  easy  to  understand  how  he  could  say  to  the  Philip- 
pians  that  his  bonds  had  "borne  witness  to  the  gospel 
throughout  the  Imperial  guard.." 

We   have   thus    the    Roman    setting   to    these   four 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.         9 

Epistles,  to  which  let  us  now  turn  our  attention.  These 
four  Epistles — to  the  Colossians,  Philippians,  Ephesians, 
and  Philemon — are  perhaps  the  richest  fruit  of  Paul's 
first  imprisonment.  No  serious  question  arises  as  to 
their  authorship,  or  as  to  the  place  of  their  composition. 
They  are  generally  conceded  to  be  Paul's,  and  to  have 
been  written  at  Rome.  A  very  few  critics  have  vainly 
endeavored  to  show  that  they  were  composed  at  Caesarea 
during  the  apostle's  two  years*  confinement. 

On  the  order  of  their  composition,  however,  a  ques- 
tion of  some  nicety  arises.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 
Ephesians,  Colossians,  and  Philemon,  belong  together, 
being  written  and  despatched  about  the  same  time-; 
while  Philippians  stands  by  itself.  The  question  is 
whether  these  three  were  first  written,  or  Philippians. 
The  majority  of  critics  adopt  the  opinion  which  places 
Philippians  last,  basing  it  on  the  following  arguments. 

1.  That  the  ^ogress  of  the  gospel  indicated  in  the 
Epistle  would  require  a  longer  time  than  would  be  allowed 
if  the  Epistle  were  written  early  in  the  imprisonment. — 

But  we  have  already  seen  that  Yz}A  found  a  strong  body   <:2jiarfd 
of  Christians  on  his  arrival.  '^'^         ""~"      A^^^/^^*  '^ 

2.  That   the  names  of  Paul's  associates,  Luke  and   ' 
Aristarchus,  mentioned  in  the  salutations  in  Colossians 
and  Philemon,  are   not  mentioned  in   Philippians,  thus 
showing  that  they  had  left  Rome  before  the  Epistle  to 
the    Philippians   was  written. — But,   if  this  proves   the 
later  composition  of  Philippians,  why  does  it  not  equally   ^ 
prove  the  later  composition  of  Ephesians,  since  neither  /W-^*-<A>^- 
of  those  names  occurs  there }     Or,  to  take  another  case,  *"  -^  ""^^ 


lo        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

why  is  Jesus  Justus,  who  is  saluted  in  Colossians,  not 
saluted  in  Philemon,  which  was  written  at  the  same  time, 
sent  to  the  same  place,  and  carried  by  the  same  messen- 
ger? The  matter  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  fact 
that  the  salutations  in  Philippians  2SQ,  general ^  "all  the 
saints,"  which  may  have  included  these  names,  while 
those  in  the  others  are  special. 

3.  That  the  numerous  journeys  between  Rome  and 
Philippi,  to  announce  the  apostle's  captivity,  to  carry  the 
Philippians'  contribution  to  Paul,  to  announce  the  sick- 
ness of  Epaphroditus,  and  again  to  tell  Epaphroditus  that 
the  Philippians  had  heard  of  his  sickness,  required  more 
time  than  the  early  composition  of  the  Epistle  would 
\  cx^yx.  K.V'    allow. — But  it  is  not  proved  that  these  four  journeys  were 
\^(^hT     made  or  were  necessary;  and  if  they  were,  the   time 
tc</ y^%y^/'>  required  in  going  between  the  two  places  was  a  little 
;^/-6l^^>.  less  than  a  month.     It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that 
y  ^^«^v<,  Aristarchus  left  the  vessel  at  Myra,  and  went  to  his 
*^       •         home  in  Macedonia  before  going  to  Rome;  in  which 
case  he  could  have  announced  to  the  Philippians  the 
apostle's  journey    to   Rome,   and    Epaphroditus    might 
have  left  at  once  and  have  met  Paul  on  his  arrival  in 
Rome. 

JO  -  /^Cr^'     '^'  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^"^  ^^  ^^^  Philippian  Epistle  is 

^/.^v^^^jT^more  despondent  than  that  of  the  others;  indicating  the 

:-^.J"<6*  .    depression  attending  a  long  confinement. — On  the  con- 

Ih^   <#       trary  the  Philippian  Epistle  is  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the 

^<>^^^^-^  ^'    most  cheery  of  all  Paul's  writings.     Even  his  possible 

sufferings   are  contemplated   with  joyful   hope.     Look, 

for  instance,  at  1:21,  22.     So  marked  is  this  that  Bengel, 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS.        ii 

a  commentator  who  knows  how  to  compress  a  great  deal 
into  a  word,  says,  "The  sum  of  the  Epistle  is,  'I  rejoice, 
do  ye  rejoice.'  " 

Thus,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  evidences  fail  to  substan- 
tiate the  later  date  of  the  Epistle,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  its  resemblance  in  style  and  contents  to  the  earlier 
group  of  the  Epistles,  especially  Romans,  and  the  fact 
that  Ephesians  and  Colossians  both  deal  with  advanced 
forms  of  error,  and  assume  a  larger  development  of  the 
church  than  appears  in  Philippians,  seem  to  indicate  that 
Ephesians  and  Colossians  ought  to  be  placed  as  late  as 
possible,  and  Philippians  as  early  as  possible.  I  there- 
fore follow  the  minority  in  placing  Philippians  first  in- 
stead of  last ;  somewhere  about  6r  or  62  a.  d.* 

Let  us  now  try  and  get  some  idea  of  the  place  and 
people  to  which  this  Epistle  is  addressed. 

Philippi  was  in  Macedonia.  Travellers  by  sea,  like 
Paul,  landed  at  Neapolis,  and  then  travelled  ten  miles 
over  the  mountains  along  the  Roman  highway  to  Phi- 
lippi. 

The  city  commanded  the  high  road  between  Europe 
and  Asia.  It  was  a  Roman  colony ;  or,  in  other  words, 
a  little  Rome,  in  which  every  feature  of  the  parent  civili- 
zation was  reproduced  as  minutely  as  possible.  The  civil 
and  military  organization,  the  language,  the  names  of  the 
magistrates,  were  the  same  as  at  Rome.  As  we  read  the 
story  of  Paul's  visit  as  told  by  Luke,  we  discover  a  Roman 
sentiment  in  the  protest  of  the  officers  against  the  recep- 

*  I  have  followed  Professor  Lightfoot,  both  in  the  argument  and  in 
the  conclusion ;  but  have  carefully  gone  over  the  ground  with  other 
authorities,  and  have  reached  his  conclusion  independently. 

18* 


12        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

tion  of  strange  customs  in  religion.  It  is  because  Paul  is 
a  Roman  citizen  that  he  obtains  redress  and  apology  for 
his  imprisonment  from  the  magistrates,  and  in  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Philippians  it  is  the  franchise  of  Roman  citizen- 
ship which  he  uses  to  symbolize  that  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ :  "  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven  "  (3  :  20). 

From  its  central  position  between  Asia  and  Europe, 
on  a  thoroughfare  of  traffic,  a  variety  of  national  types 
met  and  mingled  in  Philippi.  There  were  the  Greek,  the 
Roman,  the  Asiatic,  representing  all  varieties  of  philos- 
ophy and  of  religious  speculation  ;  Greek  and  Roman 
paganism,  Greek  skepticism.  Oriental  mysticism,  Jewish 
legalism.  It  was  a  grand  theatre  on  which  to  demon- 
strate the  power  of  the  gospel  to  deal  effectively  with 
all  phases  of  nationality  and  of  faith  alike,  with  both 
sexes  and  with  all  social  grades.  Thus  the  three  conver- 
sions which  were  specially  identified  with  Paul's  first 
visit  represented,  ist,  three  national  types.  Lydia,  the 
purple-seller,  was  an  Asiatic  of  Thyatira,  the  crazed 
slave  was  a  Greek,  and  the  jailer  a  Roman.  2d.  Three 
types  of  religion.  Lydia  was  a  Jewess,  the  damsel  a 
Greek  pagan,  and  the  jailer  a  Roman  pagan  "of  the 
politico-religious  type,  if  he  preserved  the  characteristic 
features  of  his  race."  3d.  Three  social  conditions.  Lydia 
was  a  rich  merchantwoman ;  the  Greek  sorceress  was  a 
slave,  a  chattel  without  social  or  political  rights ;  the 
jailer  was  a  subordinate  officer  under  the  government. 
In  the  early  history  of  the  Philippian  church  there  is 
therefore  illustrated  one  of  the  great  features  of  the  work 
of  the  gospel  as  set  forth  in  Paul's  words  to  the  Gala- 


r  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIFFIANS.        13 

tians  (3  :  28) ;  "  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is 
neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ; 
for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Another  interesting  fact,  and  one  which  seems  to 
interpret  at  least  one  significant  allusion  in  the  Epistle, 
is  the  exceptional  position  of  woman  in  Macedonia.  Not 
only  popular  prejudice,  but  the  deliberate  verdict  of  Gre- 
cian wisdom  in  its  best  age,  asserted  the  natural  inferi- 
ority of  woman.  The  Athenian  law  enacted  that  every- 
thing which  a  man  might  do  by  the  counsel  or  request 
of  a  woman  should  be  null  in  law.  She  was  little  better 
than  a  slave.  To  educate  her  was  to  advertise  her  as  a 
harlot.  Her  apartments  were  a  prison,  her  companions 
mainly  children  and  slaves. 

But  in  Macedonia,  for  some  reason,  woman  was  evi- 
dently held  in  high  esteem.  Monuments  were  erected  to 
women  by  public  bodies ;  and  what  is  very  significant, 
records  of  male  proper  names  are  found  in  Macedonian 
inscriptions,  formed  on  the  name  of  the  mother  instead 
of  on  that  of  the  father.  Macedonian  women  were  per- 
mitted to  hold  property,  and  were  treated  as  mistresses 
of  the  house.  These  facts  are  borne  out  by  the  account 
of  Paul's  labors  in  Macedonia.  In  Thessalonica,  Beroea, 
and  Philippi  there  were  additions  of  women  of  rank  to 
the  church  ;  and  the  prominence  of  women  in  church 
affairs  at  Philippi  appears  from  the  fourth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle,  where  two  ladies,  Euodia  and  Syntyche — or,  to 
give  the  English  equivalents,  "Sweet  Scent"  and  "Hap- 
py-go-lucky"— are  besought  by  the  apostle  to  reconcile 
their  differences  which   had  caused  disturbance  in  the 


14        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  rHILrPPIANS. 

church,  and  are  commended  to  his  colleagues  as- women 
who  labored  with  him  in  the  Lord. 

Paul,  as  you  will  remember,  was  summoned  to  Mace- 
donia from  Troas  by  the  vision  of  the  Macedonian  man 
saying,  "  Come  over  and  help  us."  Taking  ship  at  Troas, 
and  accompanied  by  Silas,  Timothy,  and  Luke,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Neapolis,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Macedonia, 
and  thence,  as  we  have  seen,  along  the  Egnatian  road, 
one  of  the  great  Roman  highways,  ten  miles  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  to  Philippi. 

With  the  coming  of  Paul  and  his  companions  to  Phi- 
lippi, the  gospel  first  entered  Europe.  The  first  Chris- 
tian service  was  held  in  the  Jews'  praying-place  by  the 
little  river  Gangas  ;  and  Lydia,  the  first  Christian  con- 
vert, opened  her  heart  to  Christ,  and  her  home  and  purse 
to  his  ambassadors. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  the  familiar  stories  of  the  healing 
of  the  possessed  damsel,  the  imprisonment  and  scour- 
ging, and  the  conversion  of  the  jailer.  Paul's  first  visit 
closed  with  the  persecution  which  violated  his  right  as  a 
Roman  citizen  by  scourging  him,  and  condemned  him  to 
a  night  in  the  inner  or  lower  prison.  If  the  Philippian 
jailer  continued  in  office,  it  is  a  suggestive  fact  that  Paul 
should  have  left  a  Christian  convert  in  charge  of  the  very 
prison  to  which  so  many  would  be  likely  to  follow  the 
apostle  for  Christ's  sake. 

But  Paul  did  not  forget  to  provide  for  the  nurture  of 
the  infant  church.  He  left  Luke  behind  him  to  complete 
its  organization.  Five  years  later  he  sent  Timothy  and 
Erastus,  and  shortly  after  made,  himself,  a  second  visit 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.        15 

(2  Cor.  I  :  15-17;  conf.  i  Cor.  16:5,  6),  which  was  fol- 
lowed almost  immediately  by  a  third,  owing  to  a  plot 
against  his  life  which  compelled  him  to  return  from  Cor- 
inth to  Macedonia.  (Acts  19:  21 ;  20:  i,  3.)  From  this 
time  we  hear  nothing  of  the  Philippian  church  until 
Paul's  letter  is  written  to  it  from  Rome. 

The  Philippians  had  been  already  marked  by  their 
generosity  in  contributing  to  Paul's  needs.  After  the 
close  of  his  first  visit,  while  he  was  still  in  Macedonia, 
they  had  more  than  once  sent  him  timely  assistance  to 
Thessalonica.  (Phil.  4:16.)  When  from  Macedonia  he 
passed  on  to  Achaia,  fresh  supplies  from  Philippi  reached 
him  at  Corinth.  (Phil.  4:15  ;  2  Cor.  11:8,  9.)  Then 
when  they  heard  of  his  being  sent  to  Rome,  Epaphrodi- 
tus  was  despatched  with  their  gift.  Epaphroditus,  hav- 
ing come  to  Rome,  not  only  discharged  his  commission 
as  the  bearer  of  the  gift,  but  entered  so  heartily  into 
Paul's  work  that  he  fell  sick.  "  He  staked  his  life  on 
the  hazard,"  says  Paul  (Phil.  2 :  30),  "  that  he  might 
supply  the  lack  of  your  personal  ministration."  He 
recovered,  but  with  returning  health  came  home-sick- 
ness. He  feared  that  his  friends  in  Philippi  might  be 
alarmed  by  the  tidings  of  his  sickness ;  so  that  in  the 
year  61  or  62  he  started  for  Macedonia,  carrying  with 
him  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  The  general  state  of 
the  church,  as  gathered  from  this  Epistle  and  elsewhere, 
may  be  thus  briefly  sunrimed  up :  They  were  poor.  In 
2  Cor.  8  : 1,  2,  we  read  of  their  deep  poverty.  They  were 
in  trouble,  probably  from  persecution.  In  the  same  pas- 
sage we  read  of  their  "great  trial  of  affliction,"  and  in 


1 6        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.  ' 

the  last  four  verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  this  Epistle, 
the  mention  of  "adversaries"  and  conflict,  together  with 
the  figure  of  the  arena  which  underlies  the  whole  passage, 
seem  to  indicate  a  state  of  persecution.  They  were  in 
danger  of  dissension,  if  not  already  suffering  from  it.  To 
such  a  condition  the  exhortation  to  humility  and  the 
warning  against  strife  in  2  : 1-4  are  addressed,  also  the 
admonition  "to  stand  fast  in  one  spirit"  (i  :2y),  to  "do  all 
things  without  murmurings  and  disputings"  (2  :  14),  and 
the  words  to  the  two  ladies  at  the  beginning  of  chapter 
4,  counselling  them  to  "be  of  the  same  mind  in  the 
Lord." 

Coming  now  to  the  Epistle  itself,  our  first  duty  is 
to  present  a  brief  analysis  of  its  contents.  This  must 
needs  be  unsystematic,  for  the  Epistle  itself  is  utterly 
unsystematic.  As  Professor  Lightfoot  remarks,  "  Of 
plan  and  arrangement  there  is  even  less  than  in  St. 
Paul's  letters  generally.  The  origin  and  motive  of  the 
Epistle  are  hardly  consistent  with  any  systematic  treat- 
ment. As  in  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the 
torrent  of  personal  feeling  is  too  strong  to  submit  to  any 
such  restraint.  Even  the  threefold  division  into  the 
explanatory,  doctrinal,  and  hortatory  portions,  which  may 
generally  be  observed  in  his  Epistles  is  obliterated 
here."* 

The  opening  salutation  is  of  unusual  length,  consist- 
ing of  the  first  eleven  verses  of  the  first  chapter,  and 
containing  thanks  to  God  for  their  Christian  fellowship 
and  cooperation,  expressions  of  confidence  as  to  the  com- 

*  Int.  to  Com.  on  Philip.,  p.  67. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.       17 

pletion  of  the  good  work  begun  in  them  by  God's  Spirit, 
and  prayer  for  their  growth  in  grace.  From  12  to  26  he 
describes  his  personal  circumstances,  the  progress  of  the 
gospel  at  Rome,  the  work  of  his  opposers,  the  zeal  of  his 
friends,  and  his  own  feelings  as  to  the  possibility  of  his 
death  or  life.  With  verse  27  he  begins  an  exhortation 
to  Christian  unity  and  courage  which  extends  to  the  4th 
verse  of  chapter  2,  where  he  enters  upon  the  example  of 
Christ  as  an  exhibition  of  the  humility  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  fellowship,  expanding  into  that  magnifi- 
cent picture  of  our  Lord's  humiliation :  a  passage  pro- 
foundly suggestive  and  inspiring;  yet  of  which  a  recent 
writer  has  said  that  "  the  diversity  of  opinion  among  its 
interpreters  is  enough  to  fill  the  student  with  despair, 
and  to  afflict  him  with  intellectual  paralysis."*  A  few 
words  of  exhortation  follow,  and  he  closes  chapter  2  with 
an  expression  of  hope  of  his  speedy  release,  his  purpose 
of  sending  Timothy,  and  the  announcement  of  the  recent 
illness  and  contemplated  return  of  Epaphroditus.  The 
word  "finally!'  at  the  beginning  of  chapter  3,  seems  tq 
indicate  that  the  apostle  was  about  to  close  the  Epistle 
with  some  parting  exhortations  to  unity  and  peace :  but 
some  tidings  may  have  reached  him  at  this  point  respect- 
ing the  attempts  of  the  Judaizers  to  corrupt  his  converts, 
reminding  him  that  the  same  influences  may  be  at  work 
in  Philippi.  At  the  2d  verse  of  chap.  3,  therefore,  he 
diverges  into  a  warning  against  these  ;  and  proceeds  to 
contrast  his  teaching  with  theirs — the  true  circumcision 
with  the  false ;  the  power  of  faith  with  the  inefiiciency 

*  Bruce,  "  Humiliation  of  Christ." 


i8        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS. 

of  works  ;  all  of  which  he  illustrates  by  a  comparison  of 
his  own  early  education,  prospects,  and  aims  as  a  Jew, 
with  his  present  hopes  as  a  Christian  (to  ver.  15),  follow- 
ing this  with  an  exhortation  to  steadfastness,  a  lament 
over  the  victims  of  sensuality  and  worldliness,  and  a 
contrast  of  these  with  the  citizen  of  heaven,  who,  instead 
of  minding  earthly  things,  looks  for  the  Saviour,  the 
Lord  Jesus  from  heaven.  With  the  beginning  of  chap. 
4,  he  resumes  the  line  broken  off  at  the  beginning  of 
chap.  3.  He  exhorts  two  prominent  ladies  to  reconcilia- 
tion. At  ver.  4,  he  says,  '^Farewell,''  not  "rejoice,'  "in 
the  Lord  :"  following  the  salutation  with  some  parting 
admonitions  to  high  aims  and  holy  thoughts  of  things 
lovely  and  pure,  ver.  8,  and  after  dwelling  at  some  length 
as  has  been  aptly  said  "  with  a  graceful  intermingling  of 
manly  independence  and  courteous  delicacy"  upon  the 
gift  brought  from  them  by  Epaphroditus,  he  closes  with 
salutations  and  the  usual  benediction. 

The  pervading  tone  of  the  Epistle  is  imparted  by  the 
apostle's  strong  personal  attachment  to  the  church.  The 
only  Epistle  which  bears  comparison  with  it  in  this  par- 
ticular, is  the  first  to  the  Thessalonians.  He  thanks 
God  at  every  remembrance  of  their  Christian  fellowship 
from  the  first  day  (1:3-5).  He  congratulates  himself 
on  being  the  subject  of  their  prayers  (i  :  19).  He  is 
assured  that  the  continuance  of  his  life  and  work  will 
be  not  only  profitable  but  grateful  to  them  (i  124-26). 
He  rejoices  at  being  "poured  out"  like  a  libation  for 
their  sakes  (2  :  17).  He  speaks  of  his  sufferings  as  such 
a  man  is  wont  to  speak  only  to  his  nearest  friends  (i  :/, 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  FHILIFPIANS.        19 

16,  23,  29,  30).  He  longs  after  them  "in  the  heart  of 
Jesus  Christ"  (1:8).  They  are  his  "joy"  and  his 
"crown"  (4:  i).  In  the  very  opening  salutation  of  the 
letter  he  drops  his  official  title,  and  greets  them  as  a 
friend  and  fellow-servant  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  tone  of  the 
Epistle  is  one  of  almost  unmitigated  commendation.  This 
puts  it  in  strong  contrast  with  the  "sustained  severity"  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  the  sharp  reproachful- 
ness  of  portions  of  ist  and  2d  Corinthians.  There  is  no 
more  personal  feeling  expressed  here  than  in  Galatians, 
1st  Corinthians,  the  second  part  of  2d  Corinthians,  and 
1st  Thessalonians;  but  it  is  of  a  different  character  from 
that  of  the  three  first  named.  In  Galatians,  the  feeling 
is  intense,  indignant,  and  sustained.  In  2d  Corinthians 
it  is  affectionate,  but  apologetic  and  self-vindicatory, 
changing  from  a  "conciliatory  and  affectionate  strain  of 
entreaty"  in  the  first  part,  to  a  tone  of  stern  command 
and  almost  of  menace.  Expressions  of  devotion  to  the 
church  blend  with  sarcasm  and  irony.  Thankfulness 
and  indignation  struggle  in  his  mind  like  cross  tides. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  on  the  other  hand,  flows 
on  to  the  end  in  a  steady  stream  of  thankful  joy  and 
commendation.  The  feeling  has  equal  strength  and 
depth;  but  less  tension :  equal  energy,  but  less  fire.  In 
2d  Corinthians  we  have  the  expression  of  a  heart  relieved 
by  the  penitence  of  offending  brethren.  In  Philippians 
we  have  the  calm  of  unimpaired  confidence.  It  is  with- 
out the  sense  of  restraint  which  attaches  to  Colossians, 
where  the  writer  cannot  forget  that  he  is  in  a  contro- 
versial attitude,  and  is  treating  truth  in  its  relations  to 

19 


20        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  FHILIPPIANS. 

heresy.  It  more  resembles  Ephesians  in  the  freedom 
with  which  Paul  gives  himself  up  to  those  spontaneous 
impulses  of  thought  which  lead  him  away  from  the  direct 
line  of  his  subject  into  the  awful  depths  of  some  divine 
counsel,  or  bear  upward  his  soul  in  some  impassioned 
prayer.  At  the  same  time,  the  Philippian  Epistle  does 
not  imply  so  high  a  capacity  as  that  of  the  Ephesian 
believers  for  receiving  the  higher  mysteries  of  the  faith, 
such  as  the  unity  of  mankind  in  Christ,  and  the  symbol- 
ism of  the  marriage  relation  as  setting  forth  the  relation 
of  Christ  to  his  church.  In  this  epistle  we  see  none  of 
Paul's  ■'  sensitiveness  about  the  behavior  of  his  converts 
to  himself,  which  appeals  in  Galatians  and  2d  Corin- 
thians ;  none  of  the  earnestness  about  points  of  difference, 
none  of  the  consciousness  of  the  precarious  basis  of  his 
authority  in  the  existing  state  of  the  two  churches."* 
There  is  the  assumption  throughout  of  frank  understand- 
ing and  Christian  friendship,  the  substitution  of  lively 
hopefulness  for  the  gloomy  foreboding  of  the  2d  Corin- 
thian Epistle. 

The  second  general  characteristic  of  the  Epistle  is 
the  absence  of  formulated  doctrinal  teaching,  which 
throws  it  into  such  marked  contrast  with  the  Roman, 
Galatian,  and  Colossian  Epistles.  In  Philippians  we  have 
the  substance  and  heart  of  the  Gospel,  rather  than  its  re- 
lation to  any  specific  form  of  error.  The  doctrinal  points 
elaborated  in  other  Epistles  are  here  matters  of  allusion, 
rather  than  of  development  or  of  discussion.  The  docu- 
ment is  not  a  theologian's  lecture  nor  a  bishop's  encycli- 

*  Jowett,  cit.  by  Lightfoot,  Intro,  to  Galati:.ns. 


THE  EFISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS.        21 

cal,  but  the  affectionate  letter  of  a  father  to  a  household. 
Between  the  apostle  and  his  readers  there  is  assumed  a 
community  of  faith  in  the  truths  to  which  he  confidently 
appeals  for  the  enforcement  of  all  that  is  honest,  pure, 
lovely,  and  of  good  report. 

This  ethical  character  of  the  Epistle  is  very  strongly 
marked ;  by  which  I  mean  that  its  tendency  is  to  exhibit 
doctrine  on  the  side  of  practical  duty,  rather  than  on  its 
abstract  side.  In  this  particular  the  whole  Epistle  par- 
takes largely  of  the  character  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of 
Romans.  When  he  praises  them,  it  is  for  their  active 
cooperation  in  the  defence  and  confirmation  of  the  gos- 
pel (i  :  7).  His  exhortation  centres  upon  their  "conver- 
sation," or  daily  behavior,  that  it  may  be  such  as  "  be- 
cometh  the  gospel ;"  that  they  "  stand  fast"  in  ^^ striving 
for  the  faith  of  the  gospel"  (i  :  27) ;  that  they  "work  out 
their  own  salvation"  (2:12);  that  they  be  "blameless 
and  harmless,"  so  as  to  be  "  lights  in  the  world  "  amid  a 
perverse  people  (2  :  15).  The  finest  example  of  this,  how- 
ever, occurs  in  the  second  chapter,  in  the  description  of 
the  humiliation  of  Jesus.  There  he  describes,  in  one  of 
the  grandest  passages  of  inspired  rhetoric  to  be  found  in 
Scripture,  the  descent  of  Christ  from  the  glory  of  God  to 
the  conditions  of  our  earthly  state :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus :  who,  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God :  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men  :  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  hum- 
bled himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the 


22        THE  EFISl'LE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS. 

death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  ex- 
alted him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above  every 
name :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  un- 
der the  earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 
Had  this  passage  occurred  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  it  would  probably  have  been  used  to  illustrate  the 
doctrine  of  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in 
Christ ;  to  show  how  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God 
contradicted  the  Gnostic,  whose  doctrine  of  the  inherent 
evil  of  matter  led  him  to  shrink  from  associating  God 
with  a  material  body,  and  consequently  made  him  re- 
solve Christ  into  a  phantom,  a  mere  semblance  or  effi- 
gy of  flesh  and  blood.  But  in  this  Epistle  this  whole 
tremendous  passage  is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  practi- 
cal duty  of  humility :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which 
was  also  in  Christ." 

The  section  of  the  Epistle  which,  more  than  any 
other,  partakes  of  a  doctrinal  character,  is  that  embraced 
in  chapter  3.  The  apostle  there  deals  with  two  doctri- 
nal errors — yndaism  and  Antinomianisni.  Yet,  to  re- 
peat what  has  been  hinted  at  already,  his  treatment  of 
the  former  error  is  significant  of  the  earlier  date  of  this 
Epistle  as  compared  with  Ephesians  and  Colossians.  It 
marks  a  transition-point  between  the  discussion  of  the 
old  Pharisaic  Judaism  and  the  discussion  of  the  new  phil- 
osophic Gnosticism  with  which  the  two  latter  Epistles 
are  occupied,  and  which  was  to  disturb  the  church  for 
two  centuries  to  come.     "  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Philip- 


■    THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS.        23 

plans  we  have,"  to  quote  the  words  of  Professor  Light- 
foot,  "  the  spent-wave  of  the  old  Judaic  controversy." 

At  the  same  time  you  observe  that  within  this  chap- 
ter the  contrast  of  faith  and  law,  and  of  the  true  and 
false  circumcision,  are  sharply  emphasized,  and  the  in- 
troduction to  the  chapter  is  marked  by  three  epithets, 
*'dogs,"  "evil  workers,"  "  the  concision,"  the  severity  of 
which  indicate  strong  feeling  on  the  writer's  part. 

We  are  through  these  epithets  introduced  to  .a  phase 
of  Judaism  and  to  a  party  in  the  Christian  church  from 
whom  Paul  experienced  the  most  bitter  and  persistent 
opposition ;  namely,  the  yiidaizcrs.  These  were  nomi- 
nally Christians,  who  accepted  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  but 
as  the  Saviour  of  Israel  only.  They  insisted  therefore 
that  Christ's  kingdom  could  be  entered  only  through  the 
gate  of  Judaism.  Circumcision  was  their  watchword. 
Circumcised  converts  alone  were  in  a  state  of  full  accep- 
tance with  God.  They  appeared  quite  early  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church.  These  were  they  of  whom  we  read 
in  Acts  15:1,  who  came  down  from  Judaea  and  disturbed 
the  church  at  Antioch  by  teaching  the  converts,  "  Except 
ye  be  circumcised  after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot 
be  saved." 

Your  attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  num- 
bers and  influence  of  the  Jews  in  Rome.  In  the  prov- 
inces of  the  empire  these  were  still  greater ;  and  how- 
ever the  Judaizers  might  be  disowned  by  the  pure  Jews 
for  their  position  on  the  Messianic  question,  they  could 
avail  themselves  of  their  influence  and  organization  ev- 
erywhere to  undermine  the  faith  of  the  new  converts,  to 

19* 


24        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

establish  the  rite  of  circumcision  and  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  especially  to  attack  Paul.  As  the  centre  and  soul  of 
the  movement  towards  the  Gentiles,  he  was  the  object  of 
their  special  hatred  and  abuse.  They  challenged  his 
birth,  his  authority,  his  motives.  They  charged  him 
with  weakness,  with  vacillation,  with  cowardice,  with 
serving  his  own  interest  under  a  cloak  of  disinterested- 
ness. "  In  a  thousand  ways  they  struck  at  his  reputation, 
and  exerted  themselves  to  counteract  his  work.  *  Paul 
must  be  destroyed,'  was  as  truly  their  watchword,  as 
the  cry  for  the  destruction  of  Carthage  had  been  of  old 
to  the  Roman  senator."*  These  are  the  persons  refer- 
red to  in  the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  who 
"  preach  Christ  of  contention,  not  sincerely,  supposing 
to  add  affliction  to  my  bonds."  These  are  the  "  dogs," 
the  "  evils  workers  "  of  chapter  third,  against  whom  the 
Philippians  are  warned — "the  concision;"  that  is,  those 
whose  circumcision,  being  a  mere  form,  was  nothing 
more  nor  better  than  the  senseless  mutilations  which 
the  priests  of  Baal  inflicted  on  themselves  on  Carmel, 
or  which  were  practised  by  the  worshippers  of  Cybe- 
le,  of  whose  orgies  he  had  probably  learned  in  Galatia. 
Against  these  his  words  in  the  third  chapter  are  aim- 
ed—  contrasting  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  works 
with  that  of  salvation  by  grace ;  claiming  that  those 
who  are  saved  by  faith  are  the  true  Israel;  illustra- 
ting the  futility  of  lineage  and  of  works  from  his  own 
example.  The  whole  passage,  from  the  third  to  the 
eleventh  verse,  is  well  worthy  of  study,  since  it  is  full  of 

*  Stanley,  "  Sermons  an  1  Lectures  on  the  Apostolic  Age." 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS.       25 

incidental  hints  lurking  in  single  words,  and  not  always 
apparent  in  our  version ;  hints  which,  while  they  serve 
to  illustrate  the  main  point  in  the  discussion,  are  also 
answers  to  the  assertions  of  the  Judaizers.  For  instance, 
'*  We  serve  God  in  the  spirit."  The  choice  word,  used  by 
a  Jew  to  express  his  service  as  one  of  God's  elect,  is  here 
boldly  claimed  by  Paul  for  a  Gentile  Christian's  service. 
He  alone  is  of  the  true  Israel.  Such  an  application  of 
the  word  would  appeal  to  a  Jew  just  as  the  phrase  "  Sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  Supper"  would  appeal  to  you  if  a 
Chinaman  should  apply  it  to  the  worship  of  Joss.  So, 
too,  in  recounting  his  own  lineage  and  education,  it  is 
interestinsf  to  see  with  what  care  his  words  are  chosen. 
Do  the  Judaizers  depreciate  him  in  comparison  with  the 
apostles  of  the  circumcision  ?  He  was  circumcised  the 
eighth  day ;  and  thus  proven  to  be  neither  an  Ishmael- 
ite,  who  would  not  be  circumcised  until  his  thirteenth 
year,  nor  a  proselyte,  who  would  be  circumcised  in  ma- 
ture life,  but  a  Jew  according  to  the  law.  Do  they  chal- 
lenge the  purity  of  his  descent  ? .  He  is  not  only  a  He- 
brew, which  would  merely  distinguish  him  from  a  Greek- 
speaking  Jew :  not  only  a  Jew  as  distinguished  from  a 
Gei2tile.  He  is  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  the  name  which 
expressed  the  dignity  and  glory  of  the  people  as  God's 
covenant  people,  not  descending  through  Ishmael  nor 
Edom,  but  direct  from  Israel,  the  prince  of  God.  Do 
they  challenge  his  Palestinian  birth  }  He  was  indeed 
born  in  Asia  Minor,  but  he  is  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
the  only  one  of  the  patriarchs  born  in  the  land  of  prom- 
ise.    He  is  of  ancestors,  too,  who  had  not,  like  so  many 


26        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  FHILIFPIANS. 

others,  given  up  their  native  tongue,  but  had  continued 
to  be  Hebrew  speakers.  He  is  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews. 
Thus  the  old  theme,  so  thoroughly  and  exhaustively  treat- 
ed in  Romans  and  Galatians — citizenship  in  Christ,  as 
against  Jewish  pretension  ;  faith  in  Jesus,  as  against  flesh- 
ly descent  and  fleshly  ordinances,  is  here  treated  again,  but 
this  time  mainly  in  the  light  of  Paul's  own  experience, 
with  an  undercurrent  of  self-defence  against  the  Judaizing 
"  dogs  "  and  "  evil  workers  "  who  are  disturbing  the  Ro- 
man converts  and  seeking  to  add  affliction  to  his  bonds. 

The  second  doctrinal  error  is  Antinoinianismy  the  ex- 
treme reaction  from  Judaism,  the  doctrine  which  declares 
that  the  gospel  does  away  with  the  obligations  of  the 
moral  law.  This  is  handled  from  the  sixteenth  to  the 
nineteenth  verse  of  the  third  chapter.  Though  the  Chris- 
tian brethren  are  made  free  in  Christ  Jesus,  let  them  re- 
member that  they  are  nevertheless  to  walk  by  a  ride  ;  and 
not  like  those  who  have  given  themselves  up  to  sensuali- 
ty, making  "  their  God  their  belly,"  forgetting  that  "  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink ;"  glorying  in  the 
unfettered  license  which  is  their  "  shame,"  and  having 
their  minds  set  on  "  earthly  things."  The  treatment  of 
this  error  is  incidental ;  not  argumentative,  but  hortative, 
and  illustrated  by  the  contrast  with  those  (ver.  20)  whose 
"  citizenship  is  in  heaven,"  whose  mind  is  set  on  '*  heav- 
enly things,"  whose  God  is  the  coming  Saviour,  and 
whose  end  is  a  change  into  his  likeness. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  attitude  of  this  Epistle 
towards  doctrinal  error  is  none  the  less  decided  and  un- 
compromising for  its  lack  of  the  distinctively  doctrinal 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS,       27 

type  of  Romans  or  Galatians.  Its  dealing  with  these 
errors  reminds  us,  by  the  intensity  of  its  language,  that 
the  writer  is  still  the  Paul  of  the  Galatian  and  Corinthian 
Epistles,  yet  it  cannot  but  be  noted  how  this,  as  all  the 
other  Epistles,  bears  witness  to  the  discriminating  quality 
of  a  ripe  charity;  to  the  sound  wisdom  of  Christian  love 
which  knows  how  to  draw  the  line  between  weakness  and 
perverseness,  between  the  lapses  of  an  undisciplined  will 
and  the  obstinate  wickedness  of  an  estranged  heart,  be- 
tween the  mistakes  of  an  untutored  conscience  and  the 
selfish  persistence  of  an  unholy  desire. 

But  while  the  Epistle  commends  itself  to  those  who 
are  concerned  with  the  substance  rather  than  with  the 
processes  of  Christian  doctrine,  while  it  is  ethical  rather 
than  controversial  in  character,  it  gives,  on  the  other 
hand,  no  countenance  to  the  effort  to  resolve  the  gospel' 
into  a  mere  code  of  morals.  The  peculiar  value  of  this 
Epistle  is  its  exiiibition  of  the  gospel  as  centring  in  2.  per- 
son and  a  life,  rather  than  in  a  code  or  a  dogmatic  system. 
The  personal  Christ  is  its  very  heart,  though  his  person 
and  work  are  treated  from  its  own  point  of  view  as  dis- 
tinguished from  others  of  the  Epistles.  In  Romans  and 
Galatians  we  see  Christ  in  his  relation  to  the  Jewish  law 
and  ordinances.  In  Colossians  his  divine  majesty  and 
authority  are  emphasized  as  against  Gnostic  angel-wor- 
ship and  asceticism.  In  Ephesians  we  see  him  as  the 
head  of  the  body,  the  church  ;  the  chief  corner-stone  of 
a  building ;  his  divine  energy  informing  the  earthly 
church,  himself  the  centre  and  perfection  of  the  promised 
church  above.     The  controversial  element  underlying  all 


28        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

these  three  is  wanting  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians, 
as  is  the  handling  of  those  profounder  Christian  rnyste- 
ries  which  characterize  Colossians  and  Ephesians,  such  as 
the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  eternal  counsels  of  God  ;  his 
position  as  the  instrument  of  the  divine  election  ;  his 
exaltation,  through  resurrection,  to  the  heavenly  places  ; 
the  secret  of  vital  union  with  his  earthly  church  as  set 
forth  in  the  marriage  relation.  In  both  these  Christ  is 
sharply  defined  as  the  instrument  of  God's  redeeming 
plan  of  salvation  by  faith  as  compared  with  works.  He 
is  the  reconciler  of  Jew  and  Gentile  in  one  body.  In 
Philippians  the  treatment  of  Christ  is  more  subjective 
than  in  Ephesians  or  Colossians.  I  mean  that  while  in 
Ephesians,  for  instance,  we  see  Christ  before  Paul  as  an 
object  of  contemplation,  in  Philippians  we  see  Christ  in 
Paul  as  the  subject  of  his  experience ;  not  what  he  knozvs 
Him  to  be  by  study,  and  by  revelation  of  Him  as  the  King 
of  glory  and  the  Head  of  the  church,  but  what  he  feels 
Him  to  be  in  His  power  over  his  own  life.  In  Paul's  expe- 
rience we  see  a  rule  of  life  indeed,  but  we  see  the  person 
and  life  of  Jesus  incarnating  and  interpreting  the  rule. 
The  summary  of  Paul's  life  is  Christ  (i  :2i).  Christ's 
death  is  not  only  a  sorrowful  recollection  ;  it  has  been 
shared  by  Paul's  moral  nature  in  his  own  death  to  sin. 
His  view  of  Christ's  resurrection  is  a  standing  rebuke  to 
the  loose  grasp  with  which  the  modern  Christian  church 
holds  that  truth.  It  is  to  him  a  blessed  memory  and  an 
inspiring  hope,  but  it  is  also  a  present  energy.  The  goal 
of  his  spiritual  ambition  is  to  know  the  power  of  Christ's 
fesurrection  nozv  and  here,  as  well  as  hereafter  (3  :  10), 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.        29 

Christ's  life  is  more  than  a  beautiful  story.  He  not  only 
lives  after  it,  he  lives  it.  Christ's  own  affection  possesses 
him.  He  longs  after  the  brethren  as  with  Christ's  own 
love,  "  in  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ "  (i  :  8).  He  emphasi- 
zes the  inward  impulse  of  duty — the  inittd  of  Christ 
(2:5).  He  urges  them  to  "work  out"  their  own  salva- 
tion, but  in  the  next  breath  reminds  them  that  God  work- 
eth  /;/  them  to  will  (2:12,  13).  He  does  not  depreciate 
conduct.  No  man  could  ever  draw  from  his  words  license 
for  moral  looseness,  but  he  exalts  conduct  by  exhibiting 
it  as  the  expression  of  the  inner  life  of  faith,  and  as  a 
growth  into  the  likeness  of  Christ. 

Having  thus  discussed  the  great  characteristics  of  the 
Epistle,  it  now  remains  to  call  attention  to  certain  minor 
details. 

And  first  it  is  interesting  to  discover  in  the  words 
and  imagery  of  this  Epistle  some  traces  of  the  coloring 
of  stoicism,  the  best  moral  system  of  paganism,  with 
which  Paul  had  probably  become  acquainted  in  the  East, 
the  representatives  of  which  he  had  encountered  on 
Mars'  Hill  at  Athens,  and  which,  at  the  time  of  Paul's 
imprisonment,  was  represented  in  Nero's  household  by 
the  philosopher  Seneca.  Whether  Paul  and  Seneca  ever 
met,  as  some  have  supposed,  is  very  doubtful ;  but  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  apostle's  vigorous  and  picturesque 
language,  in  which  so  many  of  the  objects  of  his  wide 
and  varied  observation  constantly  appear,  should  have 
taken  some  tinge  from  a  school  so  widely  known  and  so 
influential  as  that  of  the  Stoics.  There,  for  example,  is 
the  word  "  citizenship "   (3  :  20),  "  our   citizenship  is  in 


30        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

heaven,"  and  also  in  i  :  28,  "  Be  citizens  in  a  manner  be- 
coming the  gospel."  The  ideal  of  a  great  human  broth- 
erhood, of  a  world-wide  state,  was  a  favorite  one  with  the 
Stoic.  "I  will  look,"  says  Seneca,  "upon  all  lands  as 
belonging  to  me,  and  on  my  own  land  as  belonging  to 
all.  Nature  gave  me  alone  to  all  men,  and  all  men  to  me 
alone."  It  certainly  is  not  impossible  that  this  concep- 
tion may  have  helped  to  give  the  mould  to  the  thought 
of  heavenly  citizenship,  the  more  so  since  the  Stoic  ideal 
seems  to  have  included  heaven  as  well  as  earth,  the  divine 
system  as  well  as  the  human,  in  its  ideal  commonwealth ; 
so  that  the  conception  has  an  external  resemblance, 
though  of  course  not  a  deep,  inner  correspondence,  to 
Paul's  beautiful  thought  of  a  Christian  living  in  the  econ- 
omy and  communion  of  heaven  even  while  he  remains 
upon  earth. 

There,  too,  is  the  word  in  4:2,  "content,"  or,  liter- 
ally, "self-sufficient,"  and  the  whole  sentiment  of  the 
passage  to  the  eighteenth  verse.  That  word  "  self-suffi- 
cient" was  the  Stoic  word.  It  set  forth  the  Stoic's  idea 
of  moral  kinghood — man  sufficient  unto  himself  because 
he  possesses  all  things  in  himself.  Was  it  not  most  nat- 
ural that  the  Stoic's  word  should  have  carried  to  the 
apostle's  mind  the  thought  of  a  higher  self-sufficiency, 
centring  not  in  Paul,  but  in  Christ,  Paul's  neiv  self,  and 
interpreted  by  the  words,  "  I  can  do  all  things  through 
Christ  which  strengtheneth  me"  t  And  once  more :  if 
you  will  take  the  passage  in  chapter  i  :  21-27,  ^.nd  begin 
studying  it  with  the  thought  that  the  Stoic  had  no  hope 
of  immortality,  and  that  his  philosophy  encouraged  and 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.       31 

justified  suicide  as  a  means  of  escape  from  the  world's 
burdens,  you  will  find  it  most  instructive  to  pursue  the 
vivid  contrast  presented  not  only  by  Paul's  contempla- 
tion of  death,  but  by  his  brave  willingness  to  live  and 
suffer  and  delay  the  being  with  Christ  for  the  church's 
sake. 

Paul's  language,  as  I  have  said,  is  peculiarly  pictu- 
resque ;  not  only  in  his  constant  use  of  vivid  metaphors 
and  striking  figures,  but  from  the  fact  that  very  often  a 
single  word  contains  a  picture  in  itself,  which  is  not  re- 
produced in  the  translation,  but  which  really  gives  color- 
ing and  tone  to  the  thought,  and  sometimes  furnishes  the 
mould  in  which  the  whole  thought  is  cast.  This  Epistle 
is  very  rich  in  such  words ;  andl  will  call  your  attention 
to  a  few  of  them.  In  the  twenty-eighth  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  the  apostle  exhorts  the  Philippians  not  to  be 
terrified  \iy  their  adversaries.  The  word  "terrified"  is 
that  which  is  used  of  a  frightened  horse,  flying  out  of  the 
road  at  every  stump  or  wisp  of  straw ;  pointing  a  good 
lesson  to  those  timid  Christians  who  live  in  constant  fear 
that  something  will  overthrow  the  church  or  undermine 
their  faith. 

In  the  twenty-third  verse  of  the  same  chapter  we 
have  a  beautiful  picture  in  the  word  "  depart,"  which  is 
entirely  lost  in  our  translation.  Its  selection  is  exqui- 
site, when  we  remember  the  atmosphere  of  struggle  in 
which  Paul  lived.  It  is  a  soldier's  word,  meaning  to 
"break  camp."  Join  it  with  those  other  words  in  2  Cor. 
5  :  I,  "Our  earthly  house  of  this  tait  or  tabernacle','  and 

you  have  the  picture  complete.     The  feeble,  manacled 
20 


32        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 

body  is  but  the  weather-stained  tent  through  the  torn 
curtains  of  which  the  tired  soldier  looks  out  towards 
home.  To  strike  this  tent,  to  "  break  camp,"  and  to  go 
to  be  with  Christ  is  "far  better." 

In  chap.  2,  ver.  17,  we  read,  "If  I  be  offered  upon 
the  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice 
with  you  all."  Here,  again,  our  version  gives  scarce  a 
hint  of  the  picture  in  the  word  '' offered','  which  is,  lit- 
erally, '^poured  out  as  a  drink-offering^  Thus  Paul  says, 
"  You  have  laid  your  faith  and  service  on  God's  altar ; 
now  if  my  very  life  be  poured  out  like  a  libation  upon  this 
offering  of  yours,  to  further  your  Christian  work  and  con- 
secration, I  rejoice  with  you." 

So  in  chap.  4,  ver.  7,  we  read,  "  And  the  peace  of 
God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall  keep  your 
hearts  and  minds  through  Jesus  Christ."  Here  is  an- 
other military  figure,  of  which,  by-the-way,  Paul  is  very 
very  fond,  in  the  word  '^  keep!'  It  \^/^  moimt  guard" — 
the  peace  of  God,  like  a  sentinel  patrolling  before  the 
believer's  heart.  The  picture  might  almost  have  been  in 
the  poet's  thought  when  he  wrote, 

"  Love  is  and  was  my  King  and  Lord, 
And  will  be,  though  as  yet  I  keep 
Within  his  court  on  earth,  and  sleep 

Encompassed  by  his  faithful  guard, 

And  hear  at  times  a  sentinel 

Who  moves  about  from  place  to  place, 
And  whispers  to  the  worlds  of  space, 

In  the  deep  night,  that  all  is  well." 

These  are  all  that  time  will  allow  me  to  unfold ;  and 
now,  in  conclusion,  let  me  briefly  refer  you  to  the  prin- 


THE  EPIS2LE  TO  THE  PHILIFPIANS.       zi 

cipal  passages  in  which  our  version  gives  a  wrong  or  in- 
adequate idea  of  the  text. 

In  chap.  I,  ver.  8,  instead  of  "bowels,"  you  should 
read,  "the  heart!'  The  Greeks  used  the  original  word 
to  mean  the  nobler  intestines  —  the  heart,  liver,  and 
lungs — where  the  affections  were  supposed  to  reside. 
Indeed,  our  use  of  the  word  ''heart''  in  that  sense  is 
really  a  trace  of  the  same  error.  The  apostle  means 
that  he  loves  the  Philippians  with  Christ's  own  love. 

In  chap.  2,  ver.  i,  instead  of  ''consolation!'  read,  "ex- 
hortation!' The  word  is  an  appeal  to  the  power  of 
Christ's  precept  and  example  as  exhorting  them  to  unity 
and  peace.  The  word  consolation,  or  comfort,  follows 
immediately  after. 

In  ver.  6  of  chap.  2  is  a  very  important  one.  You 
will  remember  that  the  apostle  is  illustrating  the  descent 
of  Christ  from  the  glory  of  heaven  to  our  earthly  state  ; 
showing  that,  though  equal  with  God,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  become  man,  and  to  serve  and  to  suffer.  Now  if  we 
read  according  to  our  version,  "thought  it  not  robbery 
to  be  equal  with  God,"  you  see  that  we  abruptly  intro- 
duce the  thought  of  Christ's  laying  claim  to  equality  with 
God,  into  a  course  of  thought  which  hinges  on  Christ's 
voluntary  htiniiliation.  On  the  contrary,  Paul's  words 
mean  that,  in  his  assuming  our  nature,  Christ  did  not  for 
the  time  being  emphasize  or  press  his  claim  to  equality 
with  God,  but  laid  aside  his  divine  majesty  and  entered 
into  the  conditions  -of  our  humanity.  It  remains  true,  as 
appears  by  the  words,  "  being  in  the  form  of  God,"  that 
Christ  did  not  think  it  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God ;  but 


34        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  FHILIFFIANS, 

that  is  not  the  truth  which  is  held  in  these  words,  which 
we  ought  to  read  thus :  "  Being  in  the  form  of  God,  He 
did  not  regard  eqtmlity  with  God  as  a  thing  to  be  eagerly 
grasped  at  (as  though  he  were  anxious  only  to  assert  His 
deity),  but  on  the  contrary,  "  emptied  Himself  I'  which  is 
the  right  rendering  of  the  words  *'  made  Himself  of  no 
reputation." 

In  chap.  2,  ver.  lo,  instead  of  ^^  at  the  name  of  Jesus," 
read,  "  /;/  the  name  of  Jesus."  The  difference  seems  slight, 
but  is  very  wide.  To  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  is  to 
bow  at  the  mention  of  his  name ;  and  hence  this  verse 
is  cited  as  authority  for  the  custom  of  bowing  when  the 
sacred  name  is  pronounced.  Whereas  the  meaning  is 
the  same  as  doing  or  asking  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  It. 
simply  means  that  all  prayer  shall  be  made  in  his  name ; 
that  no  man  shall  come  unto  the  Father  but  by  him." 
In  the  words  of  Dean  Alford,  "  It  were  much  to  be  wished 
that  such  indefensible  senses  of  Scripture  texts  might  be 
universally,  by  honest  men,  abandoned,  and  that  we  might 
no  longer  be  told  that  St.  Paul,  in  the  sublimest  part  of 
his  most  sublime  description  of  the  glory  of  our  exalted 
Redeemer,  is  laying  down  a  rule  for  a  mere  outward  ges- 
ture when  his  name  is  mentioned." 

In  chap.  2,  ver.  I2,  instead  of  "  work  ont''  your  own  sal- 
,vation,  which  conveys  the  idea  of  our  saving  ourselves  by 
our  own  works,  read  "carry  ont"  your  salvation  ;  not  for- 
getting indeed  that  salvation  is  God's  gift,  but  equally  not 
forgetting  that  it  is  to  be  carried  out  by  a  "life  of  holy 
obedience  and  advance  to  Christian  perfection."  In  the 
following  verse,  instead  of  "  of  his  good  pleasure,"  read 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPFIANS,       35 

"for  his  good  pleasure."  In  the  one  case  the  meaning  is, 
God  does  with  and  in  us  as  hQ  pleases ;  in  the  other,  that 
God  works  in  us  to  carry  out  in  and  by  us  his  own  perfect 
and  holy  will. 

In  chap.  3,  ver.  20,  for  the  word  "conversation"  it  is 
better  to  read  citizeiiship.  If  conversation  retained  the 
meaning  it  had  when  our  translation  was  made,  repre-  * 
senting  the  whole  sum  of  a  man's  active  relations  to 
society,  the  translation  could  not  be  improved.  But 
conversation  has  now  come  to  mean  almost  exclusively 
the  interchange  of  talk,  so  that  the  apostle's  meaning  is 
better  expressed  by  the  word  "citizenship ;''  for  he  means 
to  say,  we  are  members  of  the  heavenly  commonwealth 
here  on  earth.  God  is  our  King,  and  we  live  under 
heaven's  laws  and  speak  heaven's  language,  and  are  on 
earth  as  strangers  and  pilgrims. 

In  verse  21,  instead  of  "vile  body,"  read  "body  of 
otir  hnmiliation  i"  for,  as  the  dying  Archbishop  of  Dub- 
lin said  when  the  passage  was  read  to  him,  "  Nothing  that 
He  made  is  vile."  So,  instead  of  "glorious  body  I'  we 
should  read,  "  body  of  His  glory y 

The  name  Euodias,  at  the  beginning  of  chapter  four, 
should  be  Euodia,  the  other  form  being  a  masculine  ter- 
mination, and  the  person  referred  to  being  a  Macedonian 
lady. 

Thus  tender  and  strong,  wise  and  sympathetic,  beau- 
tiful in  that  very  lack  of  systematic  structure  which 
marks  the  impulsive  utterance  of  a  loving  heart,  this 
precious  letter  comes  into  our  hands.  It  appeals  to  us 
through  this  element  of  personal  sympathy,  because  it 


36        THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  FHILIPFIANS. 

shows  us  so  much  of  Paul's  inner  self.  We  do  not  lose 
sight  of  the  teacher,  but  he  falls  into  shadow  behind  the 
confiding  friend ;  yet,  best  of  all,  though  the  letter  is  per- 
vaded with  the  apostle's  personality,  the  prominent  figure 
in  our  minds,  as  we  rise  from  its  perusal,  is  not  Paul,  but 
Paul's  Master  and  Saviour.  The  apostle  is,  after  all,  our 
medium  for  the  clearer  seeing  of  his  Lord  and  ours.  And 
in  this  magnifying  of  the  living  Christ  above  the  forms 
of  doctrine,  through  this,  the  least  doctrinal  of  the  apos- 
tle's letters,  we  receive  a  legitimate  stimulus  to  a  broader, 
more  generous,  and  more  intelUgent  study  of  doctrine. 
The  Philippian  letter  is  the  best  introduction  to  the 
study  of  the  Pauline  writings,  in  that  it  leads  us  to  the 
noble  themes  of  Christian  doctrine  in  Christ's  own  way — 
through  the  adorable  person  of  Him  who  through  self- 
emptying,  service,  and  obedience  to  death,  justly  claims 
the  homage  of  every  knee  and  the  confession  of  every 
tongue. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  to-night  a  memory  of  a 
summer  evening  among  the  Styrian  Alps,  as  I  drifted 
in  my  boat  past  the  gray,  scarred  rocks  which  encircle 
the  beautiful  Trauensee.  The  twilight  drew  on  almost 
unawares,  and  the  great  mountain  bulwarks  began  to  fall 
back  into  the  shadow  which  crept  across  the  quiet  lake  ; 
but  as  I  cast  my  eye  upward,  it  lighted  on  a  neighboring 
height  crowned  with  a  cross  ;  and  there,  while  the  shad- 
ows lay  dark  below,  while  the  mountain  ramparts  were 
fading  out  in  the  gathering  gloom,  the  sunset  light  lin- 
gered round  the  cross,  and  it  stood  out  clear  and  sharp 
against  the  evening  sky,  as  though  some  strange  power 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS.       37 

had  been  given  it  to  beat  back  the  darkness.  And  so 
the  cross,  and  the  men  and  the  works  which  the  cross 
inspires,  ever  Uft  themselves  into  the  Ught  while  the 
night  of  time  gathers  thickly  round  the  old  empires 
and  the  memory  of  their  tyrants  and  of  their  prisons. 
So  it  comes  to  pass  that  a  Christian  apostle  outlives 
and  outworks  a  pagan  empire,  and  a  Christian  letter  sur- 
vives a  pagan  prison.  So  it  is  that  we  to-night,  after  the 
lapse  of  nearly  nineteen  centuries,  are  studying  this  brief 
letter  of  Paul  to  a  little  feeble  provincial  church,  and  are 
stimulated  to  thought  and  kindled  to  devotion  by  those 
same  words,  while  the  shadows  gather  round  the  forgot- 
ten graves  of  Nero  and  of  Seneca,  while  the  tourist  wan- 
ders idly  over  the  Palatine,  and  looks  down  into  the 
choked  vaults  of  the  palace  of  the  Caesars,  and  the  anti- 
quarian digs  where  Nero's  fish-ponds  sparkled  and  wild 
beasts  rent  the  limbs  of  Christian  martyrs  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  populace.  The  cross  which  gives  this  clus- 
ter of  Epistles  their  stamp  and  their  inspiration,  will  lift 
them  with  itself  into  ever  clearer  light  and  sharper  out- 
line, while  the  world  passeth  away  and  the  lusts  thereof, 
until,  in  the  sunset  of  the  latter  days,  the  world  with  its 
rebellious  wills,  and  the  church  with  its  warring  creeds, 
shall  vindicate  Paul's  unswerving  faith,  and  Christ  shall 
be  all  and  in  all. 


THE    EPISTLES 


TO   THE 


COLOSSIANS  AND  PhILEMON, 


BY  REV.  JAMES  F.  ELDER,  D.  D., 

NEW  YORK. 


THE    EPISTLE 


TO 


THE    COLOSSIANS 


COLOSSI  AND  ITS  CHURCH. 

Two  hundred  miles  due  south  of  Constantinople,  one 
hundred  miles  due  east  of  Ephesus,  would  be  the  approx- 
imate site  of  Colossae.  The  river  whose  name  has  given 
to  our  language  one  of  its  most  expressive  words — 
meander — here  receives  into  its  upper  waters  from  the 
east  a  tributary  called  the  Lycus.  On  the  south  bank  of 
the  Lycus,  just  above  its  junction  with  the  Meander,  lay 
the  commercial  city  of  Laodicea,  which  is  mentioned 
repeatedly  in  this  Epistle.  "  Here  was  that  lukewarm 
church  mentioned  in  the  Revelation  to  which  Jesus 
wrote,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock."  Its 
haughty  claim,  "  I  am  rich  and  have  gotten  wealth  and 
have  need  of  nothing,"  was  no  idle  boast :  and  though 
prostrated  by  an  earthquake  a  few  years  before,  it  speed- 
ily rose  from  its  ruins — by  its  own  resources  alone — with 
more  than  its  former  splendor. 

Six  miles  across  the  valley  of  the  Lycus,  on  the  rocky 


4  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CO  LOSS  TANS. 

spur  between  the  Lycus  and  the  Meander,  was  Hierapo- 
lis,  also  mentioned  in  the  letter  to  the  Colossians.  This 
was  a  gay  and  fashionable  watering-place,  the  mountain 
streams  containing  medicinal  properties  ;  and  its  ruins 
still  testify  to  its  former  greatness  and  importance. 
About  twelve  miles  farther  up  the  valley  of  the  Lycus  is 
the  probable  site  of  Colossae.  Unlike  Laodicea  and 
Hierapolis,  which  were  situated  upon  the  banks  back 
from  the  river,  Colossae  lay  right  athwart  the  stream.  It 
was  near  the  great  highway  from  Ephesus  to  the  Eu- 
phrates Valley,  and  in  the  days  of  the  Persian  conquests 
was  a  great  and  populous  city.  But  at  this  time  it  was 
a  place  of  little  note,  overshadowed  by  its  more  prosper- 
ous rivals  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Lycus.  Its  site  has 
only  recently  been  identified,  if  at  all ;  its  very  name  is 
uncertain,  Colossae  or  Colassae ;  and  altogether,  accord- 
ing to  Lightfoot,  here  was  the  least  important  church  to 
which  any  Epistle  of  Paul  was  addressed. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Paul  had  visited  the  neigh- 
borhood prior  to  writing  this  letter.  On  the  contrary, 
in  the  first  verse  of  the  second  chapter,  he  says,  "  I  would 
that  ye  knew  what  great  conflict  I  have  for  you  and  for 
them  at  Laodicea,  and  for  as  tnany  as  have  not  seen  my 
face  in  the  flesh  " — language  which,  fairly  construed, 
would  imply  that  he  had  never  been  either  at  Laodicea  or 
Colossae.  But  we  know  that  Paul  labored  three  years  at 
Ephesus,  only  one  hundred  miles  away,  holding  daily 
discussions  most  of  the  time  in  Tyrannus'  lecture-room, 
and  supplementing  his  public  teaching  with  the  most 
assiduous  and  tender  labors  from  house  to  house :  ''  so 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIAKS.         5 

that  all  they  which  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  word  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  both  Jews  and  Greeks."  His  methods,  no 
doubt,  ^ere  analogous  to  those  of  modern  missionary 
leaders.  Keeping  his  headquarters  at  Ephesus,  he  re- 
ceived curious  and  interested  listeners  from  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Here  and  there  one  would  be  converted, 
and  return  to  his  own  city  carrying  the  word  of  life. 
Now  Colossse,  we  have  seen,  was  near  the  great  highway 
of  travel,  and  its  representatives  would  be  certainly  found 
at  Ephesus,  and  very  likely  some  of  them  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  noted  preacher  of  the  new  religion.  It  is 
altogether  probable  that  in  this  way  Philemon,  a  native 
of  Colossae,  was  converted  through  Paul's  ministry,  and 
Epaphras  also,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  spiritual 
father  to  the  churches  of  Lycus,  Through  such  con- 
verts in  part — what  in  modern  missions  would  be  known 
as  native  helpers — Paul  kept  up  his  intercourse  with  a 
large  number  of  communities,  and  maintained  his  "  care 
of  all  the  churches." 

And  now,  five  years  later,  during  his  imprisonment  at 
Rome,  Epaphras  of  Colossae  visits  him  with  tidings  from 
the  valley  of  the  Lycus.  Of  the  Colossian  church  he 
has  much  to  say  that  is  hopeful  and  encouraging  to  the 
apostle:  but  the  insidious  influence  of  some  false  or  in- 
competent teacher  is  plainly  hinted,  and  gives  Paul  no 
little  anxiety.  He  is  about  to  send  Tychicus  to  Asia 
Minor  to  inform  the  churches  of  his  condition  and  pros- 
pects ;  and  by  him  he  sends  the  letter  which  we  know 
as  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  but  which  some  consider 
a  circular  letter,  copies  of  which  were  to  be  distributed 

21 


6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

among  prominent  churches  in  Asia.  In  this  view,  the 
letter  from  Laodicea,  alluded  to  in  chapter  4:16,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  one  of  these  copies.  Paul  also  wished  Ones- 
imus  to  accompany  Tychicus  and  return  to  his  master, 
and  so  prepares  the  letter  to  Philemon.  At  the  same 
time  and  by  the  same  messenger  he  sends  a  special 
letter  to  the  Colossian  church  in  order  to  prevent  further 
mischief,  if  possible,  from  the  false  teaching  of  which 
Epaphras  had  brought  him  word.  The  three  Epistles 
to  the  Ephesians,  Colossians,  and  Philemon,  therefore, 
were  probably  written  and  despatched  at  the  same  time. 
That  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  we  have  under  consideration 
has  -never  been  seriously  questioned,  save  by  some  mod- 
ern German  writers,  who  have  been  sufficiently  answered 
by  competent  critical  authorities.  It  may  be  safely 
assumed  that  there  is  no  intelligent  lay  reader  of  Paul's 
letter  who  would  not  recognize  on  internal  grounds  his 
.authorship  of  this  Epistle. 

i 

THE  DESIGN  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

But  the  more  interesting  question  for  us  is,  What 
were  the  special  difficulties  and  harmful  tendencies  which 
this  letter  was  designed  to  meet }  So  far  as  these  have 
express  mention  or  clear  intimation  in  the  Epistle,  they 
are  pretty  much  grouped  in  the  last  sixteen  verses  of 
chapter  2  (8-23).  That  part  of  the  Epistle  which  fol- 
lows these  verses — chapters  3  and  4 — consists  for  the 
most  part  of  plain  and  practical  observations,  and  for 
our  present  purpose  may  be  dismissed  without  further 
notice — save  perhaps,  the  first  four  verses  of  chapter  3. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.  7 

Turning  now  to  the  first  cliapter,  we  find  Paul,  after 
his  customary  benediction  (i,  2),  expressing  his  thanks 
to  God  for  the  encouraging  report  received  from  Epa- 
phras  of  their  spiritual  condition  (3-8),  and  assuring  them 
of  his  constant  prayer  for  their  increase  in  knowledge 
and  good  works,  for  their  patient  and  joyful  endurance, 
and  for  a  thankful  spirit  to  the  Father  who  had  given 
them  so  glorious  a  redemption  through  the  Son  of  his 
love  (9-14).  On  this  allusion  to  the  Son  he  glides  into 
a  most  eloquent  and  exalted  strain,  asserting  the  preemi- 
nence of  Christ,  both  in  creation  and  in  the  church,  and 
the  good  pleasure  of  God  that  through  the  blood  of  the 
cross  the  universe  should  yet  be  reconciled  to  himself 
(15-20).  He  then  speaks  of  this  reconciling  grace  as  it 
had  been  bestowed  on  the  Colossians  (21-23),  ^i^^  con- 
cludes the  chapter  with  a  reference  to  his  own  steward- 
ship in  the  mystery  of  the  gospel,  the  sufferings  which  it 
involved  and  the  anxieties  and  the  labors  which  it  imposed. 

With  the  opening  of  the  second  chapter  we  can 
almost  see  the  shadow  of  these  anxieties  settle  on  the 
very  page  as  we  read.  He  now  gives  utterance  to  his 
great  struggle  of  mind  for  the  welfare  of  the  churches 
of  Colossae  and  Laodicea,  and  adds  frankly,  "  This  I  say 
lest  any  man  should  beguile  you  with  enticing  words." 
He  compliments  them,  however,  on  their  firm  array  and 
steadfast  faith,  and  exhorts  them  to  persevere  in  the  same 
(2  :  1-7). 

This  brings  us  to  the  sixteen  verses  in  which  are 
grouped  the  special  allusions  which  give  to  this  Epistle 
its  distinctive  character.     In  the  whole  letter  there  arc 


8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

thirty-six  words  not  found  elsewhere  in  Paul's  writings 
or  in  the  New  Testament.  Of  these  words  one-half  are 
in  these  verses  before  us,  showing  that  the  new  ideas 
combated  or  advanced  in  this  Epistle  are  largely  con- 
centrated here.  Unfortunately,  however,  for  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  situation,  we  do  not  find  well-devel- 
oped systems  of  doctrine  or  sharply-outlined  heresies 
assailed  by  the  apostle ;  but  rather  certain  mischievous 
tendencies,  superstitious  customs,  vain  speculations, 
whose  precise  character  and  bearings  are  not  always 
clearly  defined.  Nor  is  there  apparently  any  logical 
treatment  of  these  errors,  but  Paul  seems  to  pass  to  and 
fro  among  the  various  types  of  error  with  perplexing 
freedom.  Let  us,  nevertheless,  select  some  of  the  most 
distinctly  marked  evils  which  Paul  combats,  as  they  are 
suggested  by  his  language,  or  confirmed  by  subsequent 
developments  of  speculative  thought. 

RITUALISM. 

I.  The  influence  of  Judaic  Ritualism  is  very  appar- 
ent in  the  teaching  of  this  Colossian  errorist. 

Jews  were  everywhere.  Antiochus  the  Great  trans- 
planted 2,000  Jewish  families  from  the  Euphrates  into 
this  very  region.  Laodicea  as  a  great  trading  mart  would 
attract  them ;  and  as  their  fondness  for  watering-places 
is  by  no  means  a  modern  characteristic  of  the  race, 
Hierapolis  would  have  its  charm  for  them  also.  But  it 
was  hard  for  Judaism  to  appreciate  the  freedom  which 
the  gospel  taught.  Even  a  converted  Jew  would  find  it 
difficult  sometimes  to  emancipate  himself  from  the  tram- 


■  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS,  q 

mels  of  the  old  faith  (as  witness  Peter's  dissimulation  at 
Antioch),  and  Judaizing  teachers  were  constantly  spring- 
ing up  in  the  churches,  and  insisting  on  some  of  the  old 
ritualistic  observances.  To  some  of  their  scruples  Paul 
was  lenient.  But  when  they  insisted  on  these  dead 
forms  as  essential  .to  salvation,  circumcision  for  example, 
he  was  a  roused  lion,  and  would  give  place  by  subjec- 
tion, no,  not  for  an  hour.  How  sternly  he  combated  that 
fatal  error  may  be  seen  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 

But  as  compared  with  that  Epistle  his  tone  here  is 
moderate  and  calm.  And  the  explanation  is  to  be  sought 
in  the  different  attitude  which  the  Judaic  errorist  here 
assumes.  There  he  made  the  keeping  of  the  law  vital 
to  salvation.  Here  the  end  of  his  ritualism  seems  to  be 
the  attainment  of  a  superior  piety.  Circumcision  is  not 
now  so  much  a  condition  of  salvation,  as  a  species  of 
self-mortification  tending  to  and  perhaps  symbolizing  a 
holier  life.  As  such  it  was  comparatively  harmless,  but 
at  best  a  beggarly  provision  against  carnal  nature,  in  the 
light  of  that  grace  by  which  the  gospel  enables  us  to 
triumph  over  the  flesh.  *'  Your  circumcision,  performed 
by  hand,"  Paul  would  say,  ''  is  utterly  futile  as  regards 
the  putting  off  your  fleshly  nature.  It  .takes  away  but 
a  small  part  of  the  body,  and  removes  not  one  sinful 
propensity.  But  there  is  a  spiritual  circumcision  per- 
formed by  Christ,  which  consists  in  the  putting  away  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  flesh  by  the  renewal  of  your 
being  \  so  that  when  you  are  buried  with  him  in  bap- 
tism you  leave  your  carnal  nature,  as  it  were,  like 
graveclothes  in  the  tomb,  and  rise  with  Christ    to  his 

21* 


lo         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

new  and  exalted  life  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  Your 
holiness  does  not  proceed  from  outward  observances, 
but  from  an  inward  life,  and  that  life  draws  its  inspira- 
tion from  your  practical  participation  in  Christ's  resur- 
rection to  glory.  It  is  a  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God. 
Your  sins  are  forgiven  ;  your  nature  is  renewed ;  hence- 
forth keep  your  mind  fixed  on  this  substantial  fact,  that 
you  share  by  faith  in  Christ's  resurrection-life,  and  sin 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  you." 

How  many,  who  are  yearning  for  greater  attainments 
ia  holiness,  would  find  this  thought  helpful  in  their 
struggles  for  victory  over  self  and  sin.  As  Paul  else- 
where says  :  "  Reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead 
indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  The  reckoning  it  to  be  so  will  go  far  toward 
making  it  so.  We  are  dead,  and  our  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  We  are  to  live  constantly  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  this  resurrection-life  of  Christ  shared  by 
us  through  faith.  And  when  temptation  presents  its 
alluring  face,  instead  of  wallowing  in  the  mire  of  our 
own  corrupt  natures  as  we  wrestle  and  roll  in  the  bitter 
struggle  with  sin,  let  us  simply  reckon,  consider,  believe, 
know  that  we  are  by  Christ's  side,  at  his  Father's  throne, 
with  the  angels,  citizens  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  and 
the  temptation  will  vanish  like  a  horrid  dream,  and  we 
shall  walk  in  the  white  robes  of  victory. 

ACETICISM. 
2.  A  decided   ascetic  tendency   is  discernible   in 
connection  with  this  Judaic  ritualism. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS,         ii 

This  ascetic  tendency  in  Judaism  had  already  crys- 
tallized in  an  organization  known  as  the  Essenes.  They 
were  as  much  stricter  than  the  Pharisees  as  the  Phar- 
isees were  stricter  than  the  common  people.  Their  rev- 
erence for  Moses  and  his  word  amounted  almost  to 
worship.  They  observed  the  Sabbath  rigidly,  were  most 
scrupulous  about  eating  and  drinking,  and  eschewed 
marriage — recruiting  their  ranks  by  the  adoption  of  Jew- 
ish youths  into  the  order.  Their  principal  settlements 
were  on  the  Dead  sea,  though  members  of  the  order 
were  scattered  throughout  Palestine.  That  some  one  in 
love  with  the  tenets  of  this  order  had  found  his  way  into 
the  Colossian  church  is  by  no  means  improbable.  Or, 
considering  the  location  of  Colossse,  some  philosophy 
tinged  with  Oriental  Buddhism  may  have  prompted  these 
ascetic  practices — which  is  almost  saying  that  they  are 
the  spontaneous  product  cf  our  poor,  yearning,  groping 
human  nature.  But  the  rigorous  self-denials  inculcated 
among  the  Colossian  Christians,  were  more  likely  con- 
nected with  the  Mosaic  law.  The  "feast  days,  new 
moons,  and  Sabbaths,"  point  to  Jewish  festivals,  annual, 
monthly,  and  occasional,  enjoined  by  the  old  law.  And 
the  restrictions  in  the  matter  of  food  have  the  same 
source.  To  this  "observance  of  days  and  months  and 
times  and  years,"  Paul  in  Galatians  applied  the  same 
curious  term,  which  he  twice  uses  in  similar  connection 
in  the  passage  before  us — "  the  rudiments  of  the  world." 
The  word  "rudiment"  means  the  beginnings  of  things — 
the  first  principles — like  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  or 
the  lines  and  points  and  surfaces  with  which  you  begin 


12         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CO  LOSS  TANS. 

to  teach  geometry.  "  This  vaunted  wisdom  in  keeping 
of  ordinances,  which  you  prize  so  highly,"  Paul  would 
say,  "is  the  merest  alphabet  of  knowledge.  It  had  its 
place  when  men  were  first  put  to  school  in  things  divine  ; 
but  in  the  school  of  Christ  these  things  are  comparative- 
ly useless  and  childish.  They  were  only  a  shadow  cast 
before  the  substance  ;  and  the  body — the  substance  that 
cast  the  shadow— is  Christ's,  i.  e.,  is  found  in  the  things 
of  Christ — his  cross,  his  resurrection,  his  spirit  of  life. 

*'  But  do  you  say  that  such  things  are  commanded  in 
the  law,  and  we  are  under  bonds  to  keep  them  "i  Bonds  .^ 
Why  talk  you  of  bonds  .?  Do  you  not  understand  that 
that  bond  was  cancelled  when  Christ  died }  that  he  took 
it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross  "i  so  that  lifted 
far  above  your  reach,  torn  with  the  same  cruel  nails  that 
rent  his  hands,  and  stained  and  blurred  by  his  blood, 
that  law  of  ordinances  which  was  such  a  yoke  of  bond- 
age to  man  should  never  again  confront  him  to  condemn 
him  1  Why,  then,  do  you  let  any  man  take  you  to  task 
about  eating  or  drinking,  or  observing  festivals  or  Sab- 
baths }  When  Christ  died  on  the  cross  you  died — as 
your  burial  with  him  in  baptism  testifies.  Is  Christ  sub- 
ject to  that  law  of  ordinances  in  his  resurrection  state  .'* 
then  no  more  are  ye  who  died  with  him  and  rose  again. 
But  if  your  participation  in  Christ's  resurrection-life 
emancipated  you  from  all  law  of  ordinances,  why,  as 
though  you  were  still  living  only  in  the  world,  and  your 
participation  in  that  life  were  an  utterly  meaningless 
thing,  are  you  overridden  by  these  foolish  ordinances, 
such  as  'Handle  not,  taste  not,  touch  not'.^    What  possi- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.        i3 

ble  influence  on  your  souls  can  the  things  have  to  which 
these  rules  refer,  if  wisely  used  ?  They  are  all  made  to 
be  used  with  thanksgiving,  and  in  the  using  to  be  de- 
stroyed. They  go  into  the  belly  and  are  cast  out  into 
the  draught.  Do  ye  not  perceive  that  whatsoever  thing 
from  without  entereth  into  a  man  it  cannot  defile  him  t 
These  are  teachings  of  men,  and  you  subject  yourself  to 
them  after  the  Lord  died  to  deliver  you  from  like  bond- 
age." 

"  To  be  sure,"  Paul  adds,  "  such  things  have  a  show 
of  wisdom.  It  seems  commendable  for  a  man  to  impose 
such  self-denying  service,  and  to  humiliate  himself  and 
treat  his  body  rigorously ;  it  might  do  some  men  good, 
done  in  a  proper  spirit ;  but  these  things,  after  all,  have 
no  permanent  value  in  preventing  our  carnal  natures 
from  asserting  their  sway."  And  how  true  it  is  that  a 
monastic  life  and  ascetic  practices  cannot  bring  the  body 
of  the  flesh  into  complete  and  lasting  subjection.  A  man 
may  immure  himself  in  a  desert  cave,  may  macerate  his 
body  unsparingly,  but  he  cannot  get  away  from  himself. 
Our  sinful  nature  clings  to  us  despite  all  such  self-morti- 
fication, and  like  the  garment  of  Hercules  steeped  in  the 
blood  of  Nessus,  fills  our  whole  being  with  the  agony  of 
its  poison.  In  some  instances,  too,  men  claiming  that 
the  body  alone  was  the  seat  of  evil,  and  that  the  soul 
could  not  be  contaminated  by  it,  have  professed  a  lofty 
contempt  for  this  miserable  mass  of  clay  and  corruption, 
and  veering  to  the  other  extreme,  have  given  themselves 
over  to  work  all  unclean ness  with  greediness.  Not  phi- 
losophy or  asceticism,  but  a  vital  union  with  Christ  in 


14         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLO  SSI ANS, 

his  enthronement  at  God's  right  hand  can  solve  this 
problem  of  victory  over  the  flesh,  and  emancipate  from 
its  thraldom  the  millions  of  earth  who  to-day  are  seeking 
rest  through  self-mortification  and  conformity  to  rigor- 
ous ordinances  and  traditions  of  men. 

PRACTICAL  LESSONS. 
Obviously  this  treatment  of  the  evil  in  the  Colossian 
church  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  great  question 
of  Christian  liberty  under  the  gospel.  It  is  human  na- 
ture to  multiply  ordinances  and  impose  restrictions — to 
make  rules.  Churches  might  be  found  who  have  made 
almost  every  questionable  practice,  from  tobacco-chew- 
ing to  slaveholding,  a  disqualification  for  membership. 
So  far  as  such  rules  are  an  expression  of  opinion — a  kind 
of  moral  Nilometer — they  may  have  their  place  and  their 
use.  But  when  they  are  imposed  as  conditions  of  Chris- 
tian life  and  fellowship,  they  are  Judaism  reenacted. 
Who  ever  knew  of  a  church  enacting,  "  No  member  of 
this  church  shall  commit  murder  or  steal,  or  worship 
idols".''  And  why.?  Simply  because  such  a  rule  would 
be  superfluous.  As  well  enact  a  law  that  no  mother  shall 
hate  her  own  babe.  Before  such  a  law  could  reach  the 
subjects  of  it,  it  would  fall  to  the  earth  of  its  own  impo- 
tence. In  such  matters — these  grievous  breaches  of  pub- 
lic morals  and  fundamental  obligations — you  concede 
everything  to  the  restraining  and  directing  influence  of 
the  enlightened  Christian  conscience,  or  to  universal  hu- 
man instinct.  So  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus,  which  reigns  in  the  renewed  man,  may  be  trust- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.         15 

ed,  if  followed,  to  keep  him  from  walking  after  the 
flesh. 

Now  I  say — as  I  believe  Paul  says,  in  effect — Seek 
to  have  all  Christian  conduct  regulated  by  the  same  in- 
ternal law — this  same  divine  instinct.  Educate  it  by  all 
the  truth  of  God  to  its  intensest  susceptibility,  but  let 
that  inner  principle  of  the  new  life  decide  all  matters  of 
duty  and  indulgence.  Away  with  your  handwriting  of 
prohibitory  ordinances:  handle  not  —  the  billiard-cue; 
taste  not — wine  ;  touch  not — a  partner  in  the  dance. 
The  church  of  God  has  no  right  to  make  such  rules  for 
the  control  of  its  members.  Christ  has  put  an  all-suffi- 
cient law  in  their  renewed  natures,  and  by  that  law,  as 
confirmed  and  illustrated  by  the  Word,  must  they  stand 
or  fall  to  their  own  Master.    But  has  the  church  no  ris^ht 

CD 

of  discipline  over  its  members  .-*  Most  assuredly ;  and 
when  the  church  or  its  regularly-established  tribunal  is 
convinced  that  a  member  is  not  walkino:  accordinsf  to 
that  law  of  the  Spirit,  as  they  understand  it,  it  is  their 
duty  to  interfere,  remonstrate,  and,  if  need  be,  discipline 
the  offender.  I  only  say,  beware  how  you  impose  mi- 
nute prescriptions  and  special  rules  for  the  government 
of  the  Christian  life  of  others.  The  New  Testament  is 
remarkably  free  from  prohibitory  legislation  in  the  way 
of  special  precepts,  but  exceedingly  rich  in  great  princi- 
ples for  the  conduct  of  life.  While  your  regulative  code 
may  be  a  restraint  on  one,  it  may  only  be  a  pall  on  the 
Christian  life  of  another.  Your  negative  rules  may  be 
unconsciously  adopted  as  a  standard  of  Christian  attain- 
ment by  some  inexperienced  soul,  and  resting  in  the  let- 


i6         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

ter  of  your  ordinance,  he  may  only  repress  the  spiritual 
life  within  him  that  was  meant  to  be  developed  from 
grace  to  grace. 

Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren  :  Does  the  risen  Christ 
need  a  law  to  keep  him  from  going  astray  ?  Would  he 
be  more  likely  to  remain  the  Sinless  One  if  there  were 
hung  before  his  eyes  an  eternal  "Thou  shalt  not"?  No 
more  does  the  Christian  whose  life  is  truly  hid  with 
Christ  in  God  need  the  restraint  of  outward  law.  He 
does,  need  restraint ;  he  does  need  law.  But  the  law  that 
will  be  most  potent  to  keep  him  will  be  the  law  of  the 
spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  written  on  his  renewed 
spirit  by  the  finger  of  God,  and  faithfully  followed  in  the 
light  of  Scripture  teachings.  He  may,  under  the  im- 
pulse of  that  renewed  nature,  lay  down  special  rules  for 
himself,  for  daily  guidance  ;  but  even  that  is  perilous, 
for  he  may  find  himself  following  a  formal  rule  long  after 
the  free  spirit  would  otherwise  have  made  this  rule  su- 
perfluous. Life  in  nature  makes  most  symmetrical  or- 
ganisms :  so  in  spiHtual  things  inward  life  v/ill  "make  the 
most  faultless  conduct.  The  measure  of  a  Christian's  in- 
dulgence must  be  determined  in  all  cases  by  the  law  of 
the  renewed  spirit  in  the  light  of  Christ's  enthroned 
presence. 

Does  that  Christian  young  man  frequent  the  billiard- 
saloon  }  Do  not  say  to  him  dogmatically  and  imperious- 
ly, "  This  is  all  wrong."  But  try  to  lead  him  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  his  share  in  the  risen  Christ-life ;  help  him  to 
realize  what  are  the  associations  of  that  life  which  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God  ;  bring  these  heavenly  ideas  into  con- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.         17 

trast  with  the  associations  of  the  billiard-room,  and  en- 
deavor  so  to  stimulate  his  Christian  instinct  that  from 
pure  disrelish  he  shall  drop  his  cue.  This  of  course  will 
take  time  and  patience  and  prayer ;  but  when  your  work, 
is  done,  you  have  not  only  rescued  the  young  man  from 
degrading  associations  and  a  vicious  habit,  perchance,  but 
you  have  put  under  his  Christian  life  and  character  an 
immutable  and  eternal  foundation.  You  have  given  him 
a  principle  of  action,  and  not  put  him  under  bondage  to 
a  rule.  But  go  to  him  with  your  short  and  arbitrary 
"  Thou  shalt  not,"  and  you  will  get  only  a  reluctant  sur- 
render of  his  pastime  ;  you  may  bring  a  sense  of  bondage 
over  his  spirit,  and  perhaps  in  the  end  a  reckless  and  de- 
fiant reaction,  in  which  his  last  state  shall  be  worse  than 
the  first. 

Or  that  Christian  man  who  insists  on  his  rlcrht  to 
drink  wine  t  Vou  may  dash  the  cup  from  his  hands  with 
your  inflexible  ordinance,  "  Taste  not,"  but  you  have  not 
won  your  brother — perhaps  made  an  angry  foe.  Keep 
your  ordinances,  and  for  him  (though  they  may  be  of 
temporary  advantage  to  many)  your  pledges  out  of  sight, 
and  address  yourself  to  the  Christ-life  within.  Ask  him 
if  such  gratification  of  his  appetite  mars  his  enjoyment 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence .''  Can  he  ask  his  Master's 
blessing  on  the  cup  }  Is  there  no  peril  for  himself  or 
his  children  in  this  habit .^  no  slavery  of  spirit.?  Or 
does  he  know  that  yonder  pale,  shrinking  wife  has  no 
power  over  her  drunken  husband  to  reform  him,  because 
he  defends  his  rum-drinking  by  the  example  of  his  Chris- 
tian neighbor  over  the  way  }    Would  Christ's  self-sacrifi" 

22 


i8         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLO  SSI ANS. 

cing  love  not  prompt  the  abandonment  of  the  cup  for  the 
sake  of  the  perishing  men  and  weary  wives  and  suffering 
children  about  him  ?  Self-sacrifice  is  the  highest  law  of 
that  realm  from  which,  as  a  Christian  man,  the  springs  of 
his  life  are  expected  to  flow. 

Or  that  Christian  girl  who  dearly  loves  to  dance — are 
there  no  considerations,  drawn  from  the  new  life  which 
she  has  professed,  that  will  regulate  or  even  subdue  her  in- 
dulgence in  this  pleasure  ?  Is  she  indeed  crucified  to  the 
world,  and  the  world  to  her,  by  the  cross  of  Christ  ?  Or 
does  she  only  wear  a  cross  as  an  ornament  on  her  neck, 
and  not  take  the  cross  to  her  heart  as  a  means  of  self- 
mortification  ?  Does  her  sense  of  fellowship  with  Christ 
suffer  no  shock  from  the  associations  and  spirit  of  the 
ballroom  ?  If  right  for  her  to  dance  at  all,  it  is  right  to 
"  do  it  heartily  as  unto  the  Lord  " — even  as  David  danced 
before  the  Lord  with  all  his  might.  Are  there  no  mis- 
givings in  reference  to  that  which  she  allows  and  defends  t 
*'  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin."  Thus  her  dancing, 
under  given  circumstances,  is  to  be  controlled  by  her 
participation  in  that  life  which  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

By  this  perpetual  reference  of  life  and  conduct  to  the 
Christ  life  within  us,  and  the  heavenly  citizenship  into 
which  that  life  inducts  us.  Christian  character  is  freed 
most  rapidly  from  unworthy  elements,  and  built  up  most 
swiftly  and  completely  on  principles  that  shall  rule 
throughout  eternal  ages. 

I  acknowledge  that  this  liberty  into  which  the  gospel 
introduces  us  is  attended  with  great  peril.  So  is  the  pos- 
session of  free  will  in  God's  intelligent  creatures  every- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLO  SSI ANS,         19 

where.  But  as  that  is  what  makes  them  likest  God  when 
their  choice  is  directed  to  holiness,  so  this  Christian  lib- 
erty, used  as  not  abusing  it,  is  the  very  flower  and  perfec- 
tion of  our  prerogatives  in  Christ.  We  are  no  more 
slaves  and  children,  but  full-grown  sons,  with  liberty  to 
do  as  we  please,  on  the  presumption  that  we  will  always 
please  to  do  right.  Christ  has  lifted  from  our  souls  the 
crushing  tables  of  stone,  but  he  has  left  there  in  living 
characters  of  love  the  knowledge  of  his  will  written  in 
our  hearts.  And  to  this  inner  law  of  our  renewed  being 
is  all  conduct  to  be  referred — the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life 
in  Christ  Jesus.  And  nothing  will  help  us  to  realize  the 
Scripture  ideal  faster  than  the  conscientious  exercise  of 
our  freedom  in  the  constant  study  of  the  Word  and 
prayer.  The  perils  of  this  liberty,  to  a  true  Christian, 
are  as  nothing  compared  with  the  paralyzing  influence  of 
such  rules  and  ordinances  as  Paul  here  condemned. 

In  the  same  connection  in  which  he  speaks  of  their 
liberty  in  the  matter  of  eating  and  drinking,  Paul  also 
mentions  ^'Sabbaths'  (ver.  16).  If  he  refers  at  all  to  the 
weekly  Sabbath,  he  may  have  meant  that  none  were  to 
consider  themselves  bound  to  keep  the  seventh  if  they 
preferred  to  observe  the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  the 
more  probable  reference  is  to  occasional  festivals  and 
fasts,  also  called  sabbaths,  which  were  observed  by  the 
Jews,  but  could  not  be  regarded  as  binding  on  the  Chris- 
tian conscience.  Being  distinctively  Jewish  or  ceremo- 
nial, they  were  a  part  of  that  handwriting  of  ordinances 
which  Christ  took  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his 
cross. 


20         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLO  SSI ANS, 

Some,  however,  find  in  Paul's  language  here  and  in 
Romans  14 : 5  the  entire  abrogation  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
deny  that  it  is  binding  in  any  form  on  the  Christian 
church.  But  it  seems  impossible  that  the  Sabbath,  as  a 
day  of  physical  rest  at  least,  should  ever  be  abrogated. 
Jesus  said,  "  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man  ;"  and  while 
man  needs  its  merciful  provisions,  it  will  stand.  The 
obligation  to  labor  six  days  and  to  rest  one  day,  in  regu- 
lar alternation,  appears  to  ground  itself  in  constituent 
laws  of  being,  and  will  last  so  long  as  the  present  consti- 
tution of  man  endures.  The  importance  of  the  Sabbath 
as  a  provision  no  less  for  man's  religious  nature,  implies 
its  permanence  and  demands  its  regular  observance.  For 
these  reasons  it  was  embedded  in  the  Decalogue  among 
other  fundamental  and  immutable  laws. 

The  Lord's  day  has  taken  the  place  of  the  Jewish 
Sabbath — as  autumn  takes  the  place  of  summer,  as  noon 
takes  the  place  of  dawn.  The  prop07'lion  of  labor  and 
rest  is  alone  immutable,  while  the  object  commemorated 
in  that  rest  may  be  changed  by  divine  direction,  if  a 
more  worthy  occasion  should  arise.  And  a  finished  re- 
demption took  the  precedence  of  a  finished  creation  as 
the  supreme  object  of  Christian  contemplation.  (See 
Taylor  Lewis,  in  Lange's  Genesis,  page  197.) 

If  it  be  asked  how  we  may  spend  the  Sabbath  most 
appropriately  without  falling  into  Jewish  bondage  on  the 
one  hand,  or  transcending  our  Christian  liberty  on  the 
other,  I  would  say,  in  a  word,  that  we  shall  best  keep  the 
day  by  observing  it  in  the  spirit  of  its  new  name — the 
Lord's  day.     As  on  Washington's  birthday  we  recall  the 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.        21 

man,  recount  his  sacrifices,  and  review  his  character,  so 
on  the  Lonfs  day  we  are  to  give  our  thoughts,  disen- 
gaged from  the  world  by  the  Sabbath  rest,  to  the  con- 
templation and  the  imitation  of  Christ ;  to  study  his  per- 
son and  word,  to  sing  his  praise,  to  adore  his  name,  to  do 
works  of  mercy,  and  to  teach  the  children  his  love.  'We 
should  carefully  refrain  from  all  unnecessary  things  that 
will  infringe  on  the  repose  of  the  day,  or  distract  our 
minds  from  fellowship  with  the  Lord.  For  it  is  a  day  to 
be  spent  in  the  company  of  the  Master ;  sometimes,  like 
Mary,  sitting  in  happy  communion  at  his  feet;  sometimes 
listening  to  his  divine  teachings  in  the  gathered  throng ; 
sometimes  helping  the  little  ones  to  come  unto  him  to  be 
blessed ;  sometimes,  like  the  favored  three,  going  with 
him  to  the  house  of  mourning ;  and  sometimes,  like  them 
also,  standing  with  him  in  the  mount,  where  we  have 
dazzling  visions  of  his  glory,  and  fain  would  abide  for 
evermore. 

But  if  the  Gospel  does  not  abrogate  the  Sabbath, 
either  as  a -day  of  rest  or  worship,  neither  does  it  propose 
to  leave  it  in  utter  isolation  as  consecrated  time.  The 
ideal  life  in  Christ,  of  which  Paul  speaks  in  the  passage 
before  us,  demands,  in  its  practical  workings,  that  holiness 
to  the  Lord  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  and  that 
the  meanest  cooking  utensil  shall  be  as  the  bowls  before 
the  altar  of  God.  (Zech.  14:20,  21.)  In  other  words, 
Christian  life  and  conduct  in  all  their  details  are  to  be 
permeated  with  that  spirit  of  devout  consecration  which 
alone  can  really  sanctify  the  deed  or  the  doer.  The  Is- 
raelite under  the  law  was  required  to  give  one-tenth  of 

22* 


22         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

his  substance  to  the  Lord  ;  the  ideal  under  the  Gospel  is 
that  of  life  and  possessions  wholly  devoted  to  God.  And 
if  God  still  claims  one-seventh  of  our  time  as  peculiarly 
his  own,  it  does  not  imply  that  he  means  us  to  be  any 
less  holy  when  engaged  in  the  duties  of  intervening  days 
than  when  employed  in  the  services  appropriate  to  the 
Sabbath.  A  Christian's  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God, 
not  only  on  Sunday,  but  at  all  times.  In  that  heavenly 
presence  he  moves  as  a  royal  priest  of  God  continually, 
and  every  act  of  daily  duty  is  a  priestly  service.  He  is 
bound  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath-day,  according  to  the 
commandment ;  but  he  will  also  endeavor  to  sanctify  the 
rest  of  the  week  by  doing  whatever  he  does — the  eating 
and  the  drinking,  the  marrying  and  the  giving  in  mar- 
riage, the  buying  and  the  selling,  as  well  as  the  praying 
and  the  praising — all,  all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

But  the  Sabbath  itself  will  always  be  to  him  a  day 
above  all  other  days.  Its  welcome  rest,  its  distinctively 
religious  employments,  its  hallowed  associations,  its 
divine  sarxtions,  will  ever  give  it  a  peerless  rank,  and  he 
will  haste  to  meet  it  as  the  lark  soars  to  meet  the  morn- 
ing in  the  upper  air.  Indeed,  without  this  glad  and  faith- 
ful observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  there  is  small  hope  of 
living  on  a  high  spiritual  plane  on-any  other  day. 

As  regards,  however,  a  holy  temper  and  a  consecrated 
purpose,  there  should  be  no  violent  divorce  of  the  Sab- 
bath from  the  rest  of  the  week  ;  no  chilling  transition 
as  we  turn  from  worship  to  business,  from  rest  to  toil.  I 
fear  the  idea  that  Sunday  alone  is  God's  time  tends  to 
make  some  professed  Christians  unconsciously  put  on 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.         23 

and  off  their  religion  with  their  Sunday  clothes  ;  while 
the  Gospel  idea  is  for  all  days  to  be  spent  in  priestly 
service,  and  all,  even  the  most  mean  and  trivial  of  daily 
duties,  to  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God. 

ANGEL-WORSHIP. 

3d.  But  the  last  point  which  we  notice  among  the 
errors  rebuked  by  the  apostle  is  the  worship  of  angels. 

The  Pharisees,  we  are  told,  confessed  the  existence  of 
both  angels  and  spirits,  but  there  is  no  evidence  in  Scrip- 
ture that  the  worship  of  angels  was  a  part  of  the  Jewish 
faith.  This  element,  therefore,  was  probably  introduced 
from  extra- Judaic  sources,  and  was  no  doubt  a  part  of 
that  "  philosophy  and  vain  deceit "  against  which  Paul 
warns  the  Colossians  as  having  no  more  substantial  basis 
than  the  tradition  of  men.  Later  Jews,  indeed,  indulged 
in  the  most  extravagant  speculations  as  to  the  successive 
ranks  and  orders  of  angels;  and  in  the  second  century  a 
most  stupendous  system  of  error,  embodying  analogous 
speculations,  arose — derived  largely  through  Alexandrian 
literature  from  the  various  Oriental  speculative  and  mys- 
tical philosophies.  This  system  was  known  as  Gnosti- 
cism, and  arrogated  to  itself  the  possession  of  peculiar 
knowledge,  to  be  comprehended  only  by  the  favored  few. 
Certain  Gnostic  tendencies  are  supposed  to  be  hinted  at 
in  this  Epistle,  and  indeed  one  of  the  charges  brought 
against  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle  by  Baur  is,  that  it 
reveals  the  existence  of  a  system  which  historically  should 
be  placed  a  century  later.  But  such  a  charge  cannot 
fairly  be  supported.     There  are  only  hints,  at  the  most. 


24         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

of  Gnostic  tendencies,  not  the  outlines  of  a  Gnostic  sys- 
tem to  be  found  here. 

But  perhaps  'a  brief  glance  at  the  main  features  of 
full-grown  Gnosticism  may  give  us  a  clearer  idea  of  some 
of  these  mischievous  tendencies  which  Paul  combats. 
Adopting  the  dualistic  theory  of  the  universe,  Gnosti- 
cism postulates  the  existence  of  two  mutually  opposing 
kingdoms :  one  of  light,  the  abode  of  the  absolute  and 
incommunicable  God,  and  the  other  of  darkness,  a  world 
of  formless  matter  in  which  all  evil  inhered.  The  great 
problem  was  how  to  bring  God  into  relation  with  this 
world  of  matter  so  that  creation  could  occur,  and  yet  God 
not  be  compromised  by  contact  with  this  kingdom  of 
evil.  Accordingly,  they  conceived  a  series  of  aeons,  or 
spirits,  varying  in  number  with  different  systems,  evolved 
in  successive  emanations  from  the  absolute  God.  At 
each  evolution  less  and  less  of  the  Original  Light  was 
reflected  by  the  aeon,  till  at  last  an  emanation  was  pro- 
duced sufficiently  remote,  and  contact  with  the  kingdom 
of  evil  became  possible,  and  creation  took  place. 

Now  this  angel-worship  grew  out  of  a  similar  false 
idea  about  the  distance  and  incommunicability  of  the 
Deity.  It  said,  apparently.  Sin  cannot  come  into  imme- 
diate contact  with  holiness  :  even  Christ  is  too  pure  and 
too  remote  for  us  to  approach  directly :  it  will  be  more 
fitting  and  expressive  of  proper  humility  if  we  interpose 
the  mediation  of  the  angels,  who  excel  in  strength,  and 
who  may  intercede  for  us,  at  least  avail  to  help  us. 
Here  comes  in  the  apostle's  warning,  "  Let  no  one  rob 
you  of  your  prize — the  Christian's  reward — by  persuad- 


2HE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.        25 

ing  you  into  this  false  humility  in  the  worship  of  angels. 
These  men  are  idle  dreamers,  puffed  up  by  their  idle  car- 
nal speculations.  As  there  is  to  your  body  one  head  from 
which  the  whole  body,  duly  attached  and  supported,  de- 
rives its  unity  and  growth,  so  in  spiritual  life  there  is  one 
Head,  even  Christ.  No  angel  mediators  should  be  suf- 
fered to  come  between  you  and  him.  As  your  own  head 
is  directly  and  firmly  attached  to  your  body,  so  the  con- 
tact and  union  of  each  believer  with  Christ  is  direct,  or- 
ganic, vital.  To  interpose  other  mediators  is  to  cut  your- 
selves off  from  the  only  source  of  life  and  growth.  In 
him,  made  flesh,  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead ; 
and  out  of  his  fulness  all  your  fulness  comes,  and  that 
directly  from  his  divine-human  person.  He  is  the  head 
of  all  principality  and  power  and  every  other  name  you 
may  apply  to  the  celestial  hosts  :  yea,  he  rules  the  spir- 
itual hosts  of  darkness  as  well :  for  on  the  cross  he  strip- 
ped them  of  their  power  and  made  a  show  of  them  open- 
ly, leading  them  in  triumph.  And  will  you  sever  your 
connection  with  your  spiritual  head,  and  yet  hope  to 
grow }  Will  you  turn  from  the  personal  audience  of  the 
King,  freely  tendered  you,  to  seek  his  favor  through  his 
servants  t  You  do  but  dishonor  your  Master  with  such 
mock  humility." 

With  reference  to  the  more  fully  developed  Gnostic 
scheme,  while  it  cannot  fairly  be  discovered  in  the  Epis- 
tle, yet  a  single  passage  in  the  first  chapter  is  wondrously 
adapted  to  meet  this  false  conception  of  God's  relation  to 
the  universe.  With  Paul  there  is  no  room,  as  there  is  no 
occasion,  for  successive  emanations.     He  knows  of  but 


26         THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 

one  being  who  stands  in  any  such  relation  to  God :  and 
he  is  the  image  of  the  Invisible  One,  the  first-born  of  all 
creation.  There  are  no  long  approaches  to  be  prepared 
before  God  can  compass  the  work  of  creation ;  for  in 
him,  the  first-born  of  God,  were  created  all  things,  those 
in  the  heavens  and  those  on  earth,  the  visible  and  the 
invisible,  whether  thrones  or  dominions  or  principalities 
or  powers,  all  things  were  created  through  him  and  for 
him.  And  he  is  before  all  things,  and  in  him  all  things 
subsist.  As  he  is  the  head  of  creation,  so  also  he  is  the 
head  of  the  body — the  church,  since  he  is  the  beginning, 
the  first-born  from  the  dead ;  that  in  all  things  he  may 
be  preeminent.  For  God  was  pleased  that  in  him  all 
fulness  should  dwell.  Outside  of  Christ,  then,  there  are 
no  aeons  or  angels  who  in  any  sense  are  an  extension  of 
the  Godhead.  All  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  resides  in 
him  who  was  made  flesh  and  who  wears  our  nature  still. 
What  revelation  of  God  was  better  calculated  to  meet 
the  incipient  evil  of  angel-worship  at  Colossae,  or  the 
more  gigantic  system  of  error  that  afterward  arose  as 
Gnosticism  } 

A  SIMILAR  ERROR  OF  TO-DAY. 
And  what  shall  we  say,  in  concluding  our  remarks  on 
this  Epistle,  of  those  who  to-day  are  repeating  and  de- 
fending an  error  almost  identical  with  that  which  Paul 
here  condemns,  namely :  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  for 
that  matter,  of  angels  too  ?  who  dishonor  the  Head  of 
the  church  by  making  their  approaches  to  him  through 
a   deceased  woman  ?    who  invoke  departed   Christians, 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS.        127 

and  supplicate  the  good  offices  of  angels  on  the  ground 
which  would  place  them  on  a  par  with  the  Gnostic  aeons, 
that  in  a  subordinate  degree  they  are  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature  ?  It  only  shows  how  inveterate  is  that  in- 
stinct of  false  humility  which  dishonors  Christ  by  refu- 
sing to  recognize  him  as  the  sole  and  sufficient  mediator 
between  God  and  man.  Well  does  the  Scripture  exhort 
us  to  come  boldly  to  a  throne  of  grace. 

And  are  we  not  liable  unwittingly  to  fall  into  the  _^.y^,4^ 
same  slough  by  magnifying  too  highly  the  intercession 
of  living  saints  on  behalf  of  ourselves  or  others  ?  This 
urging  the  anxious  to  rise  for  prayers,  th[s_sending  up  of 
multitudinous  requests  to  some  popular  place  where 
prayer  is  wont  to  be  made,  this  desire  for  the  prayers  of 
some  individual  especially  prominent  or  gifted  —  may 
there  not  lurk  in  it  all  the  germs  of  a  feeling  that  may  / 
unconsciously  put  some  one  else  in  the  place  of  Christ  pf 
as  intercessor.?  When  the  idea  is  that  others  '' strive^'  '^^ 
together  with  us "  in  prayer  to  God,  there  is  no  impro- 
priety or  peril ;  but  if  the  secret  thought  is,  "  This  per- 
son is  better  than  I,  Christ  will  listen  to  him  more  read- 
ily than  to  me,"  we  are  verging  towards  the  idolatry  of 
the  Romanist  and  the  angel-worship  of  the  Colossian 
church.  "  Whosoever  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  Let  us  teach  men  that  the  throne  of  grace 
is  free  to  the  direct  approach  of  all,  and  may  the  good 
Lord  keep  us  from  the  subtleties  of  our  own  deceitful 
hearts,  and  enable  us  to  live  in  close  and  conscious  fel- 
lowship with  our  living  Head. 


28  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON. 

But  a  few  moments  remain  for  the  consideration  of 
the  Epistle  to  Philemon  ;  and,  in  truth,  there  are  no  seri- 
ous difficulties  to  detain  us,  though  it  would  furnish  in  its 
suggestiveness  a  multitude  of  practical  lessons.  It  is 
brief — a  single  chapter  of  twenty-five  verses — conceived 
in  the  most  beautiful  spirit,  and  easy  of  comprehension. 
We  deem  the  following  to  be  consistent  with  Paul's  let- 
ters as  the  probable  history  of  the  case. 

Paul's  language  in  the  19th  verse,  "to  me  thou  owest 
even  thine  own  self,"  implies  that  Philemon  was  indebted 
to  the  apostle  as  the  instrument  of  his  conversion.  As 
we  have  stated  before,  it  is  altogether  likely  that  in  some 
visit  to  Ephesus  Philemon,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Colossce, 
fell  in  with  Paul  and  became  a  Christian.  A  warm  per- 
sonal friendship  was  established  between  them,  and  on 
his  return  to  Colossae  Philemon  became  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  and  opened  his  house  for  its  meetings. 
His  wife  also  appears  here  as  a  convert,  and  Archippus, 
probably  their  son,  held  some  important  office  in  the 
church  at  Laodicea,  within  easy  walking  distance  of  his 
parents*  home.  Another  member  of  Philemon's  house- 
hold was  a  slave  named  Onesimus,  who  perhaps  may  also 
have  been  known  to  Paul,  or  who  most  likely  knew  of 
Paul  at  Ephesus.  For  some  reason,  not  gathered  from 
the  letter,  Onesimus  ran  away  from  his  master,  and  appar- 
ently also  robbed  him  at  the  same  time.  Perhaps  the 
theft  was  what  led  to  his  flight.  He  at  last  made  his  way 
to  Rome,  where  he  would  be  most  likely  to  escape  detec- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON,  29 

tion  in  the  crowds  of  the  metropolis.  But  whether  his 
previous  knowledge  of  Paul  led  him  to  the  apostle's  pres- 
ence, or  whether  he  was  driven  by  v^rant  to  go  to  him,  or 
whether  Epaphras  found  him  and  brought  him  to  Paul, 
certain  it  is  that  he  became  a  convert  to  Paul's  preaching, 
and  a  most  useful  helper  to  the  apostle.  Indeed,  Paul 
would  gladly  have  retained  him  about  his  person  to  min- 
ister to  him,  but  he  felt  that  Philemon's  rights  must  be 
considered,  and  Onesimus  be  returned.  He  knew  that 
he  had  only  to  write  to  Philemon  and  request  his  consent 
to  retain  his  slave,  but  that  would  seem  to  put  Philemon 
under  some  constraint,  and  he  wished  the  favor  to  be 
granted  of  his  own  free  will.  In  addition,  therefore,  to 
the  letter  to  the  Colossian  church  at  large,  he  writes  a 
private  letter  to  Philemon  to  secure  the  favorable  recep- 
tion of  Onesimus,  who  had  doubly  wronged  his  master 
by  theft  and  flight. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 
After  the  salutation  to  the  various  members  of  Phile- 
mon's household  (1-3)  and  a  hearty  expression  of  thank- 
fulness  for  Phikmon's  love  to  God's  people  (4-/),  he 
enters  on  the  principal  object  of  his  letter.  He  hints  at 
his  right  to  command  Philemon  on  the  ground  of  his 
apostolic  authority,  but  prefers  to  plead  with  him  as  a 
dear  friend.  He  reminds  him,  too,  that  Paul  is  now  an 
old  man  and  a  prisoner,  and  exhorts  him  to  receive  the 
once  "good-for-nothing  slave"  as  though  he  were  the 
apostle's  own  child— as  indeed  he  was,  spiritually  (8-12). 
After  alluding  to  his  wish  to  keep  him  with  him,  as  fur. 

^3 


30  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON. 

ther  evidence,  perhaps,  of  his  own  confidence  in  Onesi- 
mus'  conversion,  he  dwells  on  the  wonderful  providence 
that  had  taken  Onesimus  away  for  a  season  that  he  might 
be  returned  for  ever ;  for  the  bonds  which  now  united 
slave  and  master  were  those  of  Christian  brotherhood, 
and  would  never  be  broken.  And  if  Paul  had  occasion 
to  rejoice,  how  much  more  Philemon,  over  the  happy 
change  (13-16).  Again,  by  their  old-time  comradeship 
he  urged  the  reception  of  Onesimus,  even  as  himself; 
and  promises,  over  his  own  signature,  to  be  responsible 
for  anything  in  which  the  runaway  may  be  indebted  to 
his  master  ;  albeit  he  reminds  Philemon  how  he  owes  to 
him  his  own  self  (17-19).  "Yea,  my  brother,"  he  adds, 
"let  me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord  ;  refresh  my  heart 
in  the  Lord."  At  the  same  time  he  expresses  his  confi- 
dence that  Philemon  will  even  exceed  his  wishes,  and 
bids  him  prepare  him  a  lodging  in  the  hope  of  a  future 
visit  (20-22).    A  few  salutations  close  the  Epistle  (23-25). 

But  no  paraphrase  can  do  justice  to  the  simple  ear- 
nestness, the  delicate  tact,  the  Christian  courtesy  of  this 
short  letter.  It  has  been  and  will  remain  unapproacha- 
ble, in  these  regards,  in  the  annals  of  epistolary  corre- 
spondence. The  letter  with  which  it  has  been  oftenest 
compared  is  one  addressed  to  a  friend  by  the  younger 
Pliny.  The  following  translation  of  this  beautiful  letter 
is  given  in  Lightfoot's  Commentary  on  the  Epistles  to 
the  Colossians  and  Philemon,  a  book  to  which  I  have 
been  very  greatly  indebted  in  the  preparation  of  this  lec- 
ture.    The  letter  runs  as  follows : 

"Your  freedman,  with  whom,  you  had  told  me  you 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON.  31 

were  vexed,  came  to  me,  and  throwing  himself  down 
before  me,  clung  to  my  feet,  as  if  they  had  been  yours. 
He  was  profuse  in  his  tears  and  his  entreaties ;  he  was 
profuse  also  in  his  silence.  In  short,  he  convinced  me 
of  his  penitence.  I  believe  that  he  is  indeed  a  reformed 
character,  because  he  feels  that  he  has  done  wrong.  You 
are  angry,  I  know ;  and  you  have  reason  to  be  angry ; 
this  also  I  know  •  but  mercy  wins  the  highest  praise  just 
when  there  is  the  most  righteous  cause  for  anger.  You 
loved  the  man,  and  I  hope  will  continue  to  love  him  ; 
meanwhile,  it  is  enough  that  you  should  allow  yourself 
to  yield  to  his  prayers.  You  may  be  angry  again  if  he 
deserves  it ;  and  in  this  you  will  be  the  more  readily 
pardoned,  if  you  yield  now.  Concede  something  to  his 
youth,  something  to  his  tears,  something  to  your  own 
indulgent  disposition.  Do  not  torture  him,  lest  you  tor- 
ture yourself  also  at  the  same  time.  For  it  is  torture  to 
you  when  one  of  your  gentle  temper  is  angry.  I  am 
afraid  lest  I  should  appear  not  to  ask,  but  to  compel,  if  I 
should  add  my  prayers  to  his.  Yet  I  will  add  them,  the 
more  fully  and  unreservedly  because  I  scolded  the  man 
himself  with  sharpness  and  severity ;  for  I  threatened 
him  strictly  that  I  would  never  ask  you  again.  This  I 
said  to  him,  for  it  was  necessary  to  alarm  him  ;  but  I  do 
not  use  the  same  language  to  you.  For  perchance  I 
shall  ask  again,  and  shall  be  successful  again ;  only  let 
my  request  be  such  as  it  becomes  me  to  prefer  and  you 
to  grant.     Farewell." 

And  Lightfoot  adds : 

"The  younger  Pliny  is  the  noblest  type  of  a  true  Ro- 


32  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON. 

man  gentleman,  and  this  touching  letter  needs  no  words 
of  praise.  Yet,  if  purity  of  diction  be  excepted,  there 
will  hardly  be  any  difference  of  opinion  in  awarding  the 
palm  to  the  Christian  apostle.  As  an  expression  of  sim- 
ple dignity,  of  refined  courtesy,  of  large  sympathy,  and  of 
warm  personal  affection,  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  stands 
unrivalled." 

THE  MORAL  VALUE  OF  THE  fepiSTLE. 

But  the  great  importance  of  this  Epistle  to  the 
Christian  church  lies  in  the  attitude  in  which  it  placed 
Christianity  to  slavery.  The  evils  of  slavery  in  that  age 
and  the  proportions  it  assumed  were  simply  enormous. 
The  slaves  of  Attica,  Lightfoot  tells  us,  were  as  numer- 
ous as  its  citizens,  and  in  the  contracted  territory  of 
Corinth  there  were  not  less  than  460,000.  In  Egina, 
scarcely  40  square  miles  in  extent,  there  were  470,000 
slaves.  Some  wealthy  Roman  land-owners  had  10,000 
or  20,000,  or  more.  These  slaves  had  no  protection  in 
Roman  law,  and  were  absolutely  at  their  masters'  dispo- 
sal. And  so  great  was  the  dread  of  their  violence,  that 
the  law  enacted  that  in  case  of  the  murder  of  a  master 
all  the  slaves  under  the  same  roof  should  be  put  to  death — 
a  law  which  was  probably  executed  on  400  human  beings 
in  a  single  instance  during  Paul's  residence  in  Rome. 

Now  what  Paul  would  have  done  had  his  century 
been  the  nineteenth  instead  of  the  first,  we  can  only 
conjecture;  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  he  would  have  been 
judiciously  conservative.  But  in  that  age  and  under  those 
circumstances  he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  send  the  run- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON.  zt, 

away  slave  back  to  his  master.  Perhaps  he  would  have 
done  the  same  had  Philemon  not  been  a  Christian,  but  a 
cruel  heathen  ;  we  know  not.  But  we  can  conceive  him 
talking  to  Onesimus  familiarly  something  after  this 
strain :  "  To  be  sure,  Onesimus,  it  was  your  lot  to  be  a 
slave  ;  but  you  are  now  Christ's  freeman.  From  a  worse 
bondage  than  that  of  the  body  has  the  grace  of  God 
delivered  you — even  bondage  to  your  own  degrading  life 
and  passions.  Henceforth  you  have  really  but  one 
master  to  serve — the  Lord  who  has  redeemed  us  all. 
Poverty  and  toil  are  not  the  lot  of  slaves  alone.  Go  back 
and  serve  Philemon  faithfully,  doing  what  you  do  heartily 
as  unto  the  Lord,  and  not  merely  to  please  your  earthly 
master.  Serve  Christ,  and  from  him  shall  be  your  re- 
ward." What  he  wrote  to  Philemon  we  have  already 
seen,  and  in  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Colossian  church 
he  had  enjoined  on  all  masters  to  deal  justly  by  their 
bond-servants,  remembering  that  they  had  a  Master  in 
heaven  who  was  no  respecter  of  persons. 

Paul  felt  that  he  could  safely  leave  this  case  to  the 
inherent  influence  of  the  gospel  in  the  heart  of  both 
master  and  slave.  He  knew  that  Philemon  would  not  be 
likely  to  pass  the  cup  to  Onesimus  at  the  Lord's  table 
as  a  brother  beloved,  and  then  order  him  to  be  tortured 
for  his  recent  fault.  And  before  that  same  idea  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood  and  equality  of  man  which  inhered  in 
the  gospel,  Paul  knew  that  slavery  everywhere  was  doom- 
ed ultimately  to  fall.  To  attempt  to  do  away  with  the 
evil  as  then  existing  by  prohibitory  injunctions  on  the 
Christian  church,  or  by  inciting  social  crusades  against 

23* 


34  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON. 

it,  would  have  been  repeating  the  great  tragedy  of  Sam- 
son's end,  and  for  the  time  at  least  Christianity  and  social 
order  would  have  been  brought  down  together  in  one 
awful  wreck.  But  from  the  hour  when  the  gospel  was 
preached  as  recognizing  no  distinctions  of  race  or  rank 
in  Christ  Jesus,  the  work  of  sapping  and  mining  this 
hugh  social  fabric  has  been  going  steadily  on.  Progress 
has  been  slow;  the  cries  of  successive  generations  of 
enslaved  and  outraged  humanity  have  gone  up  into  the 
ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  apparently  unheeded.  But 
it  is  our  glad  privilege  to  live  in  the  far-off  age  that  has 
seen  the  mine  fired  and  a  huge  portion  of  the  gigantic 
structure  fall.  And  what  England,  Russia,  and  America, 
have  done  presages  the  utter  and  speedy  extinction  of 
slavery  the  wide  world  around.  The  silent,  all-pow- 
erful moral  influence  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has 
done  it. 

And  when  slavery  falls  from  such  a  cause  there  is  no 
likelihood  of  its  restoration.  Though  nominally  as  a 
war  measure  emancipation  took  place  in  this  country,  yet 
the  moral  sentiment  of  the  people  as  dominated  by  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  led  the  way  for  it,  and  alone  made 
the  triumph  permanent.  And  it  is  remarkable,  with  all 
the  social  ostracism  and  political  intimidation  and  grind- 
ing opposition  that  have  been  visited  on  the  Freedmen  of 
the  South,  there  has  been  no  suggestion  of  their  reen- 
^lavement.  The  situation  seems  to  have  been  accepted 
not  merely  as  a  dire  necessity  under  political  conquest 
and  military  force,  but  with  a  sense  of  relief  as  from  a 
horrid    nightmare.      Southern    slavery    is    twice    dead, 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILEMON.  35 

plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  and  I  doubt  if  there  were  to- 
day a  Southern  Confederacy,  and  the  blacks  were  left 
solely  to  the  mercy  of  those  States,  whether  the  boasted 
corner-stone  of  that  Confederacy  as  originally  organized 
would  not  prove  to  be  a  stone  which  the  builders  would 
reject ;  and,  so  far  from  ever  being  exalted  to  the  head  of 
the  corner,  it  would  be  ground  to  impalpable  powder. 

If  there  be,  then,  one  lesson  to  be  drawn,  in  closing, 
from  the  study  of  these  two  Epistles,  it  would  be  the 
renewing  and  revolutionizing  power  of  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  We  have  seen  the  transforming  power  of  that 
lofty  ideal  of  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  more  potent 
far,  in  regulating  individual  conduct,  than  all  prohibitory 
legislation  and  outward  rules.  And  we  have  to-day  the 
palpable  evidence  that  great  social  and  political  systems 
of  evil  yield  in  God's  good  time  to  the  same  omnipotent 
influence  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  May  we  not  gather 
thence  wisdom  and  encouragement  for  our  assaults  on  the 
gigantic  evils  that  yet  remain  ;  and  while  not  neglecting 
any  legitimate  means  for  restricting  their  outward  growth, 
yet  be  most  assiduous  in  our  endeavor  to  pierce  their 
very  heart  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
word  of  God  ? 


THE 


Pastoral   Epistles 


TO 


TIMOTHY   AND   TITUS. 


BY  REV.  C.  C.  TIFFANY, 

NEW  YORK. 


ST.  PAUL'S 
PASTORAL  EPISTLES 


It  has  become  my  grateful  task  to  address  you  con- 
cerning the  Pastoral  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ant duty,  albeit  an  arduous  one :  pleasant,  because  we 
cannot  read  any  writing  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles without  a  sense  of  coming  in  contact  with  a  master 
mind,  nor  without  a  strong  impression  that  his  was  a 
human  spirit,  nobly  fitted  by  its  discipline  and  its  attain- 
ments to  be  the  channel  for  the  message  of  the  Divine 
Spirit;  pleasant,  because  he  summons  us  to  audience 
with  a  great  heart  and  a  grand  intellect,  along  which  and 
through  which  the  truth  of  God  marches  with  imperial 
tread  ;  but  an  arduous  task,  both  by  reason  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter, so  lofty  and  at  times  so  subtle,  and  of  the 
disputations  of  men,  which  have  woven  their  interpreta- 
tions about  it — interpretations  which  bewilder  us  by  their 
variety,  and  distract  us  with  the  din  of  theological  and 
ecclesiastical  conflict.  It  is  my  purpose,  however,  to 
avoid  as  far  as  possible  this  outside  confusion,  and  to 
gather  from  out  these  Epistles  themselves  the  salient 
truths  they  were  meant  to  teach — truths  which  we  must 


4  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

learn  for  ourselves  if  we  would  rightly  teach  them  to 
others. 

The  Pastoral  Epistles  are  three.  They  consist  of 
two  to  Timothy  and  one  to  Titus.  In  the  order  of  their 
composition,  the  one  to  Titus  comes  in  between  the  first 
and  second  letters  to  Timothy,  but  they  were  all  writ- 
ten within  the  space  of  a  few  years,  and  all  after  the 
first  imprisonment  of  St.  Paul  in  Rome,  with  the  ac- 
count of  which  Luke's  history  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles ends. 

It  may  be  asked  why  we  are  to  assume  a  second  im- 
prisonment of  the  apostle  Paul  unrecorded  in  Holy  Writ, 
during  which  and  between  which  and  the  first  imprison- 
ment these  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written.  There  are 
both  internal  and  external  reasons  which  compel  it. 
Those  which  are  internal  refer  to  the  subject-matter  of 
the  Epistles,  and  the  nature  of  the  heresies  and  false 
teachings  which  are  rebuked  in  them,  which  are  of  such 
a  character  as  could  not  have  arisen  in  the  earlier  period 
of  the  apostle's  life.  Indeed,  to  certain  destructive  crit- 
ics the  form  of  these  ripe  evils  herein  treated  has  been 
the  occasion  for  strong  doubt,  if  not  for  stout  denial,  of 
the  apostolic  authorship  of  the  Epistles.  Both  Schleier- 
macher  and  De  Wette  have  urged  this  argument,  which 
we  will  consider  farther  on,  when  we  think  we  can  show 
that  the  evils  herein  treated  coincide  exactly  with  that 
late  epoch  in  St.  Paul's  life  which  marks,  the  interval  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  imprisonment.  But  undoubt- 
edly the  nature  of  the  heresies  here  mentioned  and  the 
phrases  applied  to  them  are  so  advanced  upon  the  evils 


ST.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPLSTLES.  5 

corrected  and  opposed  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians 
and  Colossians,  or  appearing  at  any  time  of  the  period 
extending  from  the  year  a.  d.  54  to  a.  d.  63,  during 
which  the  other  Epistles  were  written,  that  we  are  forced 
to  place  these  writings  among  the  latest  productions  of 
the  apostle's  pen,  and  assign  them  to  the  period  subse- 
quent to  the  account  of  his  residence  in  Rome,  with  which 
the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  so  abruptly  ends. 
The  concluding  notices  of  the  second  Epistle  to  Timo- 
thy, wherein  the  apostle  speaks  (as  in  chap.  4:6)  of  his 
prospect  of  immediate  martyrdom,  forbid  our  placing 
that  Epistle  at  any  earlier  period,  and  all  the  three  letters 
stand  together  in  the  nature  of  their  contents. 

The  external  reasons  for  assuming  a  liberation  from 
the  first  imprisonment  followed  by  a  second  imprison- 
ment, are  as  follows :  The  Epistles  to  Timothy  are  writ- 
ten to  him  at  Ephesus,  and  in  his  character  of  presiding 
officer  of  the  church  there,  to  which  special  charge  he 
had  been  set  apart  by  the  apostle  Paul  himself  when  he 
went  into  Macedonia.  See  i  Tim.  i  :  3.  This  time  must 
have  been  subsequent  to  St.  Paul's  first  visit  to  Ephe- 
sus, recorded  in  Acts  18:20,  21,  when  the  church  was 
founded,  if  indeed  it  was  at  that  time  founded.  For  at 
that  time  of  his  departure,  St.  Paul  did  not  go  to  Mace- 
donia, but  to  Jerusalem.  The  second  visit  to  Ephesus 
was  the  long  one  related  in  Acts  19,  when  he  continued 
there  (see  ver.  10)  at  least  two  years ;  which  statement 
may  not  have  included  the  whole  time,  since  St.  Paul,  in 
his  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  who  met  him  by 
appointment  at  Miletus  (Acts  20  :  31),  says  "by  the  space 

-4 


6  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

of  three  years"  he  preached  among  them  ;  which,  by  the 
well-known  method  of  Jewish  reckoning,  may  mean  no 
more  than  parts  of  three  years,  but  must  mean  as  much. 
The  apostle  did  at  this  time  depart  to  go  to  Macedonia 
(Acts  20 :  i) ;  yet  he  did  not  leave  Timothy  behind  him, 
but,  as  we  read  in  Acts  19  :  22,  he  sent  Timothy  and 
Erastus  before  him.  Again  (in  i  Tim.  3  :  14),  we  find 
the  apostle  hopes  soon  to  follow  his  letter  to  Ephesus  ; 
but  in  the  Acts  we  find  no  trace  of  such  intention  and 
no  attempt  to  accomplish  it.  It  has  been  supposed  by 
some  that  Timothy's  stay  in  Macedonia  was  short,  and 
that  he  returned  to  Ephesus  before  the  apostle  left  (see 
I  Cor.  16:  8-1 1) ;  but  if  so  he  must  have  almost  imme- 
diately deserted  his  charge  ;  for,  as  is  evident  from  2  Cor. 
I  :  I,  he  is  again  in  the  autumn  with  St.  Paul  in  Macedo- 
nia (whence  the  2d  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  was  writ- 
ten), in  the  winter  in  Corinth  (see  Rom.  16:21),  where 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  written,  and  returned  to 
Asia  with  him  (Acts  20  : 3,  4) ;  so  that  the  ruling  and 
ordering  of  the  Ephesian  church  during  the  apostle's 
absence,  which  furnish  the  whole  scope  of  the  Epistle, 
would  have  been  defeated.  Some  critics,  to  meet  this 
difficulty,  have  supposed  an  unrecorded  journey  of  the 
apostle  into  Macedonia  during  the  two  or  three  years' 
residence  in  Ephesus ;  but  the  whole  character  of  the 
first  Epistle  shows  that  (to  quote  Dean  Alford)  it  belongs 
not  to  a  brief  and  casual  absence  of  this  kind,  but  to  one 
intended  to  last  some  time.  The  hope  of  returning  soon 
is  faint  (i  Tim.  3  :  14) ;  the  provision  is  for  a  longer 
absence. 


ST,  PA  UrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  7 

Taken,  then,  with  the  internal  considerations  already 
alluded  to,  the  external  indications  form  a  strong  argu- 
ment for  a  later  composition  of  these  Epistles  than  the 
theory  of  one  imprisonment  would  furnish,  especially  as 
the  fact  of  a  second  imprisonment  is  supported  by  an 
ancient  tradition  not  easily  set  aside,  referred  to  in  the 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Eusebius  (2:22),  in  the  ist 
Epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome  to  Corinth,  and  in  a  frag- 
ment of  Muratori  on  the  Canon. 

Now  as  to  the  fact,  time,  and  place  of  the  writing  of 
the  1st  Epistle  to  Timothy,  we  have  the  following  indi- 
cations :  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (i  :  26  and 
2  :  24),  written  during  the  first  imprisonment  in  Rome, 
the  apostle  intends  and  hopes  to  come  to  see  them 
shortly.  The  hope  of  release  also  appears  in  the  Epistle 
to  Philemon  (ver.  22),  written  from  Rome.  The  suppo- 
sition is  that  the  apostle  realized  this  hope  and  visited 
(when  once  set  free)  the  Macedonian  and  Asiatic  church- 
es, leaving  Timothy  at  Ephesus,  and  writing  the  Epistle 
from  some  place  on  his  journey  where  he  was  detained 
and  was  likely  to  be  kept  longer  than  he  had  anticipated 
(i  Tim.  3  :  14,  15);  that  he  went  with  Titus  to  Crete, 
leaving  him  there  to  complete  the  organization  of  the 
Cretan  churches  (Titus  i  :  5),  writing  the  Epistle  soon 
after  from  Asia  Minor,  when  proposing  to  winter  at  Ni- 
copolis  (3  :  12),  a  well-known  city  in  Epirus.  We  judge, 
from  2  Tim.  4: 13,  20  (written  after  his  last  communica- 
tion with  Timothy  and  from  the  Roman  prison),  that  he 
journeyed  from  Crete  to  Nicopolis  by  Troas  and  Miletus. 
Nicopolis  was  a  Roman  colony,  and  the  apostle  having 


8  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES, 

been  known  in  Rome  as  a  leader  of  the  Christians, 
would  be  exposed  to  the  hostile  action  of  parties  plotting 
against  him  in  the  metropolis,  and  would  be  likely,  at  any 
time  after  the  great  fire  at  Rome  in  A.  d.  64  (which  Nero, 
who  caused  it,  charged  upon  the  Christians),  to  be  arrest- 
ed as  implicated  in  causing  it.  As  in  this  case  the  crime 
alleged  was  committed  in  Roifte,  the  Decemviri  of  Ni- 
copolis  would  send  him  to  Rome  for  trial.  We  learn 
from  2  Tim.  2  : 9  that  he  was  in  this  imprisonment  treat- 
ed as  a  criminal,  not  as  an  offender  in  matters  of  the 
Jewish  law — as  before,  when  he  dwelt  two  years  chained 
to  a  soldier  in  his  own  hired  house  (see  Acts  28  :  30).  As 
a  criminal  he  is  now  thrown  into  prison,  Of  his  Asiatic 
friends  only  Nicephorus  was  faithful  and  found  him  out 
(2  Tim.  1:16;  4:10,  11).  Luke  was  faithful  still;  but 
in  his  loneliness  and  infirm  and  premature  old  age,  at  65, 
St.  Paul  writes  this  second  letter  to  his  favorite  Timothy, 
begging  him  to  come  wiih  Mark  to  see  him.  It  was 
written  after  his  first  appearance  and  pleading  before  the 
court  (2  Tim.  4 :  16,  17),  but  how  long  after  we  cannot  tell. 
But  both  Eusebius  and  Jerome  mention  the  tradition 
that  he  suffered  martyrdom  in  the  last  year,  or  last  but 
one,  of  Nero,  therefore  late  in  6^  or  in  6'^.  And  this 
Epistle  (2  Tim.  4 : 6)  was  written  in  immediate  expecta- 
tion of  that  event.  It  has,  not  without  reason  therefore, 
been  called  the  testament  of  the  dying  Paul  to  his  spir- 
itual son,  and  through  him  to  the  whole  community. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  the  writer  to  the  recipients  of 
these  letters.  Of  Titus  but  little,  of  Timothy  much  is 
known.     Titus  is  never  once  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  un- 


ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES,  9 

less  under  another  name,  which  some  have  supposed  to 
be  the  case,  since  of  all  the  companions  of  St.  Paul,  he 
seems  to  have  been  the  most  valued  and  trusted.  But 
some  have  supposed  that  at  last  he  deserted  the  apostle, 
and  so  found  no  mention  at  the  hands  of  St.  Luke.  In 
view,  however,  of  his  excellent  character  and  devotion, 
we  are  compelled  to  regard  his  departure  from  the  im- 
prisoned Paul  at  Rome  for  Dalmatia  (2  Tim.  4:  10)  as 
suggested  by  the  apostle  himself.  He  is  first  mentioned 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  chap.  2:1,  3,  where  we 
learn  that  he  was  of  Gentile  origin ;  and  we  conclude 
that  he  was  certainly  converted  under  St.  Paul,  from  the 
expression  (Titus  i :  4),  "  To  Titus  mine  own  son  after 
the  common  faith."  The  next  notice  of  him  is  in  2  Corin- 
thians, where  (12: 18)  we  find  that  he,  with  two  other 
brethren,  was  sent  forward  by  St.  Paul  from  Ephesus, 
during  his  long  sojourn  there,  to  set  on  foot  a  collection 
(8 : 6)  for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  ascertain 
the  effect  of  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  In 
2  Cor.  2:12,  13,  we  learn  that  notwithstanding  the  great 
opportunities  of  usefulness  at  Troas,  where  the  apostle 
Paul  waited  after  his  departure  from  Ephesus,  he  was  so 
anxious  for  the  return  of  Titus  that  he  went  over  into 
Macedonia  to  meet  him,  and  (chap.  8:6-15)  was  greatly 
comforted  by  the  satisfactory  account  which  he  brought 
of  the  effect  of  the  ist  Epistle,  and  by  the  effective  zeal 
and  earnestness  in  the  work  of  the  gospel  shown  by  Titus 
himself.  In  chap.  8  :  23,  St.  Paul  calls  him  his  partner 
and  fellow-helper;  and  in  12  :  18  he  appeals  to  his  integ- 
rity and  entire  unity  of  action  with  himself.     From  this 


lo  ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

time  for  a  period  of  ten  years  (a.  d.  57  to  67)  we  know 
nothing  of  Titus,  except  the  notices  furnished  in  the 
Epistle.  From  this  we  learn  that  St.  Paul  had  left  him 
in  Crete  (1:5),  "to  set  in  ordet  the  things  that  are 
wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in  every  city."  His  stay  at 
this  time  was  not  long,  for  in  3:12  the  apostle  summons 
him  to  come  to  Nicopolis,  where  he  was  to  winter,  and 
whence,  as  we  have  seen,  St.  Paul  was  probably  sent  to 
Rome  for  his  last  imprisonment  and  martyrdom,  charged 
with  criminal  action.  From  2  Tim.  4 :  10,  we  learn  that 
Titus  left  St.  Paul  for  Dalmatia,  whether  before  or  after 
the  apostle  reached  Rome  we  cannot  tell.  So  far  as 
tradition  goes,  Eusebius  speaks  of  him  as  the  first  bishop 
of  Crete ;  and  Butler,  in  the  "  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  says 
he  is  honored  in  Dalmatia  as  its  principal  apostle ;  that 
he  returned  from  Dalmatia  to  Crete,  and  finished  a  labo- 
rious and  holy  life  at  Crete,  at  an  advanced  age. 

Concerning  Timothy  we  have  fuller  information.  He 
is  first  mentioned  (Acts  16 :  i)  as  dwelling  in  Derbe  or 
Lystra,  on  St  Paul's  second  visit  there.  His  mother  was 
a  Jewess,  his  father  a  Gentile,  and  he  was  probably  con- 
verted under  the  apostle's  preaching  on  his  first  visit,  as 
(i  Tim.  I  -.2)  the  apostle  styles  him,  "My  own  son  in 
the  faith."  His  mother  and  his  grandmother  Lois  (2  Tim. 
I  :  5)  were  both  Christians,  probably  converted  on  St. 
Paul's  first  visit  from  being  pious  Jewesses  (3  :  14,  15). 
Though  young,  Timothy  was  well  esteemed  at  Lystra 
and  Derbe  (Acts  16  :  2),  and  St.  Paul  took  him  as  a  helper 
in  the  missionary  work,  having  first  circumcised  him,  his 
father  being  a  Jew,  to  remove  any  obstacle  to  his  access 


ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  -EPISTLES,  ii 

to  the  Jews.  This  has  been  made  a  charge  of  time-serv- 
ing and  inconsistency  against  the  apostle,  as  he  had  re- 
fused to  circumcise  Titus.  But  the  cases  were  different. 
Titus  was  a  Greek.  To  circumcise  him,  would  have  been 
to  yield  to  the  principle  of  the  Judaizers — that  a  man 
must  be  made  a  Jew  to  be  a  true  Christian.  To  have 
refused  to  circumcise  Timothy  (of  Jewish  stock)  would 
have  seemed  to  declare  that  the  Jew  could  not  be  in  the 
fullest  sense  a  Christian.  St.  Paul's  open  position  op- 
posed both  these  views.  His  watchword  was,  **  Neither 
circumcision  availeth  anything,  nor  uncircumcision." 
His  action  in  regard  to  both  Titus  and  Timothy  showed 
strict  adherence  to  his  principle  of  the  indifference  of 
outward  acts.  In  Titus  he  resisted  circumcision  when 
declared  necessary  and  made  an  essential  of  Christianity. 
In  Timothy  he  performed  the  rite,  not  in  itself  wrong, 
when  it  would  give  greater  access  to  the  gospel — in  re- 
spect of  which  neither  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision 
availeth  anything.  He  combined  in  his  diverse  actions 
the  same  principle,  which  led  in  the  one  case  to  the  main- 
taining of  freedom  and  in  the  other  to  the  expediency 
of  free  concession. 

Without  tracing  all  the  events  of  his  career,  suffice  it 
to  say,  that  from  this  time  on  Timothy  was  the  compan- 
ion and  fellow-worker  of  the  apostle.  He  probably  ac- 
companied him  in  his  progress  through  Macedonia,  for 
he  was  left  behind  in  Berea  with  Titus  (Acts  17:14), 
when  the  apostle  was  sent  away  to  Athens  by  sea.  He 
rejoined  the  apostle  with  Silas  at  Corinth,  having  brought 
tidings  from  Thessalonica.      (See  i   Thess.  3 : 6.)     He 


12  ^T.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPISTLES, 

remained  with  the  apostle  at  Corinth,  and  his  name 
appears  in  the  addresses  of  both  the  P^pistles  to  the 
Thessalonians  written  at  Corinth.  We  next  find  him 
ministering  to  St.  Paul  during  his  long  stay  at  Ephesus 
(Acts  19  :  22),  whence  he  was  sent  with  Erastus  to  Mace- 
donia. He  was  with  the  apostle  again  in  Macedonia 
when  he  wrote  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
(2  Cor.  1:1);  and  in  the  winter  following  was  with  him  in 
Corinth  when  he  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (Rom. 
16:21),  and  on  the  apostle's  return  to  Asia  went  forward 
and  waited  for  him  at  Troas.  We  next  hear  of  him  from 
the  three  Epistles  of  the  first  Roman  imprisonment. 
He  was  with  St.  Paul  when  he  wrote  to  the  Colossians 
(Col.  I  :  i),  to  Philemon  (verse  i),  and  to  the  Philippians 
(Phil.  1:1).  From  this  time  we  hear  of  him  no  more  till 
We  come  to  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  From  these  we  learn 
that  he  was  left  by  the  apostle  at  Ephesus  to  take  charge 
of  the  church  in  his  absence ;  and  St.  Paul's  urgent 
appeal  to  him  to  come  to  him  in  Rome  makes  it  proba- 
ble that  he  would  set  out  immediately  to  see  him  there. 
The  tradition  mentioned  in  Eusebius  styles  him  the  first 
bishop  of  Ephesus  ;  and  the  ancient  martyrologies  make 
him  die  by  martyrdom  under  Domitian. 

When  Timothy  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  we  can- 
not tell.  Dean  Alford  inclines  to  the  view  that  it  was 
when  left  by  the  apostle  for  his  isolated  work  at  Ephe- 
sus. Be  the  time  what  it  may,  he  was  solemnly  set 
apart  for  the  ministry  with  the  "  laying  on  of  the  apostle's 
hands  and  those  of  the  presbytery  "  (i  Tim.  4  :  14 ;  2  Tim. 
1:6);  and  according  to  prophecy  (i  Tim.  4 :  14;  1:18). 


ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  13 

His  character  was  earnest  and  self-denying,  as  shown 
by  his  leaving  home  with  the  apostle,  his  submission  to 
circumcision  at  his  hands,  and  from  (i  Tim.  5  :  23)  the 
fact  of  his  abstinence  fpom  wine.  There  are  tokens  of 
timidity  apparent  in  the  apostle's  exhortations  to  him,  as 
though  he  were  better  fitted  for  a  coadjutor  than  an  inde- 
pendent laborer,  (i  Cor.  16:10.)  For  about  fifteen 
years  he  was  as  a  son  in  the  Gospel  to  the  apostle,  a 
source  of  great  consolation  to  St.  Paul,  and  a  man  of 
devoted  and  affectionate  character,  though  doubtless 
lacking  in  the  boldness  of  his  spiritual  father — an  apos- 
tolic Melancthon  to  the  apostolic  Luther. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  writer  and  recipients 
of  these  Epistles,  because  they  are  so  especially  per- 
sonal communications.  It  is  indeed  an  official  person 
who  writes  and  who  is  written  to,  and  of  course  there  is 
much  reference  to  official  station  and  ofificial  duties ;  but 
there  is  a  personal  strain  throughout  these  letters,  and 
they  are  rather  the  utterances  of  affection  than  official 
admonitions.  We  shall  find  much  of  the  value  of  the 
Epistles  to  consist  in  this.  They  give  an  insight  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  apostle,  and  teach  us  how  the  Divine 
inspiration  mingled  with  and  made  use  of  the  natural 
affections  and  characteristic  emotions  of  the  writer,  as 
well  as  of  his  higher  intellectual  endowments. 

'first  epistle  to  timothy. 

This  Epistle  itself  states  the  occasion  of  its  composi- 
tion. St.  Paul  had  left  Timothy  in  charge  of  the  Ephe- 
sian  church.     Heresies,  such  as  he  had  foretold  in  his 


14  -5*7:  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPLSTLES. 

address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus — who  met  him  at  Mile- 
tus, when  he  took  a  supposed  final  leave  of  them — had 
arisen  ;  and  Timothy,  comparatively  young,  and  unused 
to  independent  labors,  must  be -encouraged  and  enlight- 
ened concerning  his  work,  in  the  doubtful  prospect  of  a 
return  of  the  apostle — a  return  which  he  had  hoped  to 
accomplish  when  he  left,  (i  Tim.  3  :  14,  15.)  The  pre- 
cepts of  the  apostle,  however,  regarded  two  quite  differ- 
ent branches  of  his  duty :  one  was  to  keep  down  and 
extirpate  the  growing  heresies  of  the  day ;  the  other  had 
respect  to  the  government  of  the  church  itself. 

Before,  however,  dwelling  upon  either  of  these  topics, 
I  would  call  your  attention  to  one  feature  of  both  the 
Epistles  to  Timothy,  which  marks  them  at  once  as  per- 
sonal communications  and  as  the  utterances  of  an  aged 
Christian  man.  I  do  this  because  it  illustrates  the  natu- 
ral flow  of  his  supernatural  inspiration,  and  lets  us  see 
how  free  and  unconstrained  in  the  method  of  its  expres- 
sion was  that  Divine  enlightenment  which  gives  to  these 
Epistles  the  force  of  a  Heavenly  Authority,  while  it  pre- 
serves intact  the  characteristics  of  the  human  author. 
Indeed,  we  learn  from  this  feature  of  these  letters  how 
the  Holy  Spirit,  who  inspires  the  thought,  uses  what 
some  might  term  the  infirmity  of  old  age,  and  what  all 
recognize  as  its  characteristic,  as  the  means  of  conveying 
some  of  the  most  touching  as  well  as  the  most  exalted 
expressions  of  Divine  truth,  and  leads  our  thoughts  to 
dwell  on  the  author  as  an  inspired  man  rather  than  merely 
an  inspired  penman — as  one  whose  whole  being  was  suf- 
fused with  the  truth  and  spirit  of  Christ,  so  that  it  could 


ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  15 

not  but  manifest  itself,  whether  by  a  direct  effort  of 
argument,  or  the  indirect  expressions  of  personal  expe- 
rience. 

This  peculiar  characteristic  of  these  Epistles  is  St. 
Paul's  habit  of  going  off,  on  the  mention  of  anything 
which  reminds  him  of  God's  mercies  to  himself,  or  of  his 
own  sufferings  on  behalf  of  the  Gospel,  into  a  digression 
on  his  own  history  or  feelings  or  hopes.  The  habit  of 
digression,  or  of  having  his  attention  caught  by  a  word 
or  phrase  which  suggested  some  side-truth,  and  leaving 
for  a  while  the  direct  argument  to  pursue  it,  is  charac- 
teristic of  St.  Paul  in  all  his  epistles.  But  in  the  letters 
before  us  the  cause  of  digression  is  different,  while  the 
habit  remains.  Here  it  is  not  a  suggestion  of  subsidiary, 
though  connected  truth,  but  of  some  personal  experience 
which  sets  his  heart  glowing,  rather  than  his  mind 
moving,  and  stirs  him  up  to  the  utterance  of  that  elo- 
quent ascription  v/hich  is  kindled  from  the  embers  of 
feeling,  rather  than  by  the  fuel  of  ideas.  Turn  to  i  Tim. 
1:12-18  for  an  illustration  of  this  characteristic  fact. 
St.  Paul  here  turns  from  the  subject  to  himself.  He  has 
been  giving  a  charge  concerning  errors  in  the  church. 
But  the  words  "glorious  gospel"  were  too  much  for  the 
argument.  The  aged  apostle  could  not  then  think  only 
of  those  who  perverted  it.  His  feeling  kindles  in  the 
thought  of  what  it  had  done  for  him,  and  so  he  goes  on  to 
speak  of  his  own  experience  of  it.  I  doubt  if  in  all  the 
Biblical  literature  can  be  found  expressions  more  dear  to 
the  Christian  heart  than  here.  They  have  inwoven  them- 
selves into  the  universal  Christian  experience,  because 


i6  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

they  originated  in  the  utterance  of  just  such  experience. 
"  He  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the  ministry." 
What  clergyman  does  not  con  over  that  expression  as 
the  classic  utterance  of  his  own  emotion  as  he  contem- 
plates the  high  responsibilities  and  the  beckoning  privi- 
leges of  his  calling,  especially  when  the  sense  of  his  per- 
sonal insufficiency  presses  most  heavily  upon  him ! 
What  Christian  does  not  linger  fondly  over  the  expres- 
sion of  ver.  15,  as  he  comes  to  the  cross  of  his  Redeemer 
for  forgiveness  and  for  strength,  words  which  have  bro- 
ken many  a  criminal's  hard  heart,  and  which  are  by  the 
Episcopal  Church  put  among  the  comfortable  words  to 
be  read  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  faithful  as  they  approach 
the  table  of  the  Lord's  bounty :  "  It  is  a  faithful  saying, 
and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came 
into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief"!  If 
we  should  attempt  to  sketch  even  the  associations  of 
these  words  with  the  scenes  they  have  brightened  and 
glorfied,  with  the  hours  of  holy  communion  they  have 
sweetened,  the  joys  of  the  new-born  believer  they  have 
begotten,  the  triumphs  of  the  dying-bed  which  they  have 
assured  and  lightened, 

"  Where  would  the  glowing  numbers  end  ?" 

Must  we  not  thank  God  for  this  inspired  utterance  of  an 
old  man's  heart,  as  fervently  as  for  the  profoundest  ar- 
gument begotten  by  the  same  Spirit  in  his  brain  ?  And 
when  we  look  at  the  ascription  in  ver.  17,  which  closes 
this  interjected  paragraph,  where  shall  we,  in  all  litera- 
ture, find  the  equal  of   its  sublimity.?  "Now  unto  the 


ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  17 

King,  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  be 
honor  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen."  Of  these 
and  other  like  passages  in  these  Epistles  might  be  said 
vrith  far  deeper  and  truer  meaning,  what  a  distinguished 
modern  writer  says  concerning  the  effect  of  the  writings 
of  Thomas  a  Kempis.*  See  how  what  she  writes  of  him 
applies  here :  "  This  voice  out  of  the  far-off  (Middle) 
ages  was  the  direct  communication  of  a  human  soul's 
belief  and  experience,  and  came ....  as  an  unquestioned 
message.  I  suppose  this  is  the  reason  why  the  small 
old-fashioned  book ....  works  miracles  to-day,  turning 
bitter  waters  into  sweetness,  while  expensive  sermons 
and  treatises  newly  issued  leave  all  things  as  they  were 
before.  It  was  written  down  by  a  hand  that  waited  for 
the  heart's  prompting ;  it  is  the  chronicle  of  a  solitary 
hidden  anguish,  struggle,  trust,  and  triumph,  not  written 
on  velvet  cushions  to  teach  endurance  to  those  who  are 
treading  with  bleeding  feet  on  the  stones.  And  so  it 
remains  to  all  time  a  lasting  record  of  human  needs  and 
human  consolations  ;  the  voice  of  a  brother  who  ages 

ago  felt  and  suffered  and  renounced, with  a  fashion 

of  speech  different  from  ours,  but  under  the  same  silent 
far-off  heavens,  and  with  the  same  passionate  desires, 
the  same  strivings,  the  same  failures,  the  same  weari- 
ness"— we  may  joyfully  add,  of  our  Master,  the  apostle, 
with  the  same  faith  as  ours,  and  with  the  same  Lord  to 
inspire  it. 

There  are  other  such  passages,  though  shorter,  to  be 
found  in  i  Tim.  2  :  7  ;  2  Tim.  i  :  1 1,  12  notably,  "  For  I 

*  George  Eliot  ia  "The  Mill  on  the  Floss." 
25 


1 8  ST.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPLSTLES. 

know  whom  I  have  believed,"  etc. ;  2:9,  10 ;  and  espe- 
cially 4  : 6-9,  which  I  must  read  to  you  before  we  go  off 
on  the  heresies,  as  being  so  full  of  that  joyful  faith  in  the 
midst  of  all  difficulties  and  dangers  that  it  may  well 
teach  us  to  keep  a  steadfast  trust  in  the  face  of  any 
menace  to  the  faith.  Read  2  Tim.  4  : 6-9,  16-19  >  ^Iso 
I  Tim.  6: 13-16. 

These  illustrations  of  the  personal  breaks  or  inter- 
ruptions of  the  course  of  the  Epistle,  show  the  general 
character  of  its  style.  It  is  not  succinct  and  logically 
coherent,  but  discursive,  now  speaking  of  this,  now  of 
that ;  more  in  the  character  of  a  private  letter  to  a  pub- 
Ih:  person,  than  an  official  document.  Our  criticism  of 
its  contents,  therefore,  must  keep  this  in  view,  if  we  are 
to  really  grasp  its  import,  both  in  regard  to  the  heresies 
of  which  it  treats,  and  to  the  church  government  which 
it  recommends  ;  for  we  have  here  germinant  principles 
to  guide  action,  rather  than  positive  edicts  and  set  insti- 
tutions. 

The  passages  in  relation  to  the  heresies  touch- 
ing the  church,  are  found  in  the  ist  Epistle,  chiefly  in 
1:4-11;  4:1-9;  6:3-5;  and  in  2  Tim.  2:14,  16-26 
generally  ;  3  :  1-9.  And  we  find  in  them  a  special  char- 
acter of  their  own.  I  said  earlier  that  the  form  of  these 
errors  had  been  urged  by  some  (Schleiermacher  and  De 
Wette  especially)  as  an  argument  for  a  later  composition 
of  the  Epistles  than  St.  Paul's  lifetime  would  allow,  be- 
cause of  the  elements  of  Gnosticism  contained  in  them, 
a  form  of  error  which  did  not  come  to  its  full  develop- 
ment before  the  second  century.     Now  in  any  of  the 


ST.  PAUnS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  19 

passages  I  have  indicated,  you  will  find  a  common  fea- 
ture running  through  this  error:  it  is  a  false  speculation, 
an  attention  to  "  endless  genealogies  which  minister 
questions,  rather  than  godly  edifying"  (1:4);  a  "giving 
heed  to  fables  and  seducing  spirits  "  (4:  7)  ;  a  false  asceti- 
cism (4:3);  "  perverse  disputings  "  (6:5);  "  strifes  about 
words"  (2d  Epistle  2:14;  16-23);  "heady  and  high- 
minded  "  persons  (3  : 4-7) ;  with  all  which  erroneous  doc- 
trine was  mingled  dissoluteness  of  life.  Now  in  this 
false  knowledge  and  disputings  of  genealogies,  we  do 
find  Gnostic  elements.  But  it  is  germinant,  not  devel- 
oped Gnosticism.  These  heresies  represent  a  transition 
period  from  the  old  Judaizing  opponents  to  the  later 
Gnostic  opponents  of  the  gospel.  The  old  Judaizing 
party  would  confine  Christianity  within  the  limits  of  Ju- 
daism. They  would  keep  it  chained  to  the  law.  The 
later  Gnostic  heretics  would  identify  it  with  speculation, 
and  merge  it  in  a  philosophy,  and  so  would  wholly  spurn 
and  reject  the  law  as  an  outward  institution.  In  the 
heresies  of  these  Epistles  we  see  a  mingling  of  both  ele- 
ments, showing  the  transition  stage  from  one  to  the 
other.  The  traces  of  Judaism  in  the  heretics  of  these 
Epistles  are  numerous  :  they  professed  to  be  teachers  of 
the  law  (i  Tim.  1:7);  they  commanded  to  abstain  from 
meats  (4:3);  in  Titus  i  :  10  they  are  designated  as  being 
of  the  circumcision,  and  in  i :  14  gave  heed  to  Jewish  fa- 
bles and  commandments  of  men  ;  and  were  given  to 
strivings  about  the  law  (3  : 9).  But  these  are  not  the 
Judaizers  of  the  earlier  Epistles,  notably  of  that  to  the 
Galatians.     Those  were  strong  upholders  of  the  law  and 


20  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

all  its  requirements  ;  and  would  make  circumcision  es- 
sential as  well  as  faith  in  Christ.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians  there  is  also  an  advance.  There  they  have 
added  to  Jewish  tenets  such  excrescences  as  "  will-wor- 
ship," "neglecting  of  the  body,"  "voluntary  humility," 
"worshipping  of  angels,"  "intruding  into  those  things 
which  he  hath  not  seen,"  "  puffed  up  by  his  fleshly  mind," 
"  not  holding  the  Head."  (Col.  2:18,  19,  21)  In  Philip- 
pians  there  is  a  further  advance.  In  3  :2  they  are  called 
"dogs,  evil-workers,  the  concision."  And  in  the  nth 
verse  of  the  same  chapter  we  find  indications  of  the  same 
heresy,  concerning  the  resurrection's  being  passed  al- 
ready, which  is  fully  developed  in  2  Tim.  2:18.  Now  in 
these  Pastoral  Epistles  there  is  noted  the  same  progress 
from  legality  through  superstition  on  to  godlessness,  only 
in  a  riper  stage.  The  heretics  here  have  lost  all  true  un- 
derstanding of  the  law  (i  Tim.  1:7-19),  repudiated  a 
good  conscience,  are  hypocrites  and  liars  (4:2),  use  reli- 
gion as  a  means  of  bettering  themselves  in  the  world 
(6:  5,  and  Titus  i  :  n),  "overturning  the  faith"  (2  Tim. 
2 :  17),  with  mind  and  conscience  defiled  (Titus  i  :  15,  16). 
"  They  profess  that  they  know  God,  but  in  works  they 
deny  him,  being  abominable  and  disobedient,  and  to 
every  good  work  reprobate." 

There  are  also  in  these  Epistles  traces  of  Gnosticism. 
The  endless  genealogies  may  point,  as  Dean  Alford  sug- 
gests, to  the  lists  of  Gnostic  emanations  which  in  their 
full  form  come  later  :  though  I  rather  incline  to  refer  them 
to  the  Jewish  traditions,  which  purported  to  contain  the 
mysteries  Moses  had  handed  down  by  tradition,  as  a  tra- 


ST.  FAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  21 

ditional  law  or  Kabbala.  But  plainly  in  i  Tim.  4:3  we 
have  the  seeds  of  Gnostic  Dualism.  The  passage  is 
prophetic,  but  the  germ  of  the  future  was  evidently  al- 
ready present.  In  6  :  20  the  phrase  rendered  "  opposi- 
tions of  science"  has  a  reference  to  the  Gnostic  specu- 
lations. 

But  the  Gnosticism  of  these  Epistles  is  not  that  of 
the  second  century.  That  was  altogether  antijudaistic. 
The  Jewish  Creator,  law,  and  system,  were  held  in  con- 
tempt and  abhorrence  by  it.  The  whole  system  stood 
over  against  the  Jewish  stand-point.  The  heretical  spec- 
ulations found  no  root  in  the  permanence  of  the  Mosaic 
economy.  It  rather  despised  it  as  a  thing  gone  by.  The 
Oriental  and  Greek  elements  which  had  been  fused  with 
Judaism  completely  cast  it  out.  And  one  great  cause  of 
this  was  the  obliteration  of  the  Jewish  hierarchy  and  na- 
tional system  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The 
logical  outcome  of  the  unnatural  alliance  of  positive 
Jewish  law  and  Greek  intellectualism  and  Oriental  mys- 
ticism, was  thus  assisted  by  the  course  of  outward  events. 
But  while  these  events  were  preparing,  the  tendency  to 
the  break  was  growing,  and  we  reach  a  very  interesting 
period  of  its  growth,  in  the  ripening  heresies  of  these 
Pastoral  Epistles.  For  these  exhibit  a  state  of  things  far 
in  advance  of  the  principles  of  the  old  Judaizing  party, 
and  far  in  the  rear  of  the  full-blown  Gnosticism  of  the 
next  century.  As  the  progress  from  the  one  to  the  other 
was  gradual,  the  peculiar  features  of  the  period  marked 
by  these  Epistles  indicate  just  what  we  might  expect,  a 
mingling  of  legal  and  speculative  elements,  which  passed 

25* 


22  ST.  PAUnS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES, 

by  for  ever  when,  a  few  years  later,  the  temple  was  de- 
stroyed, Jerusalem  made  a  heap  of  stones,  the  priesthood 
scattered,  and  religion  decentralized. 

I  have  spoken  thus  fully  of  these  heresies,  not  be- 
cause they  are  in  their  special  form  of  much  practical 
interest  to-day,  but  because  they  have  been  used  as  an 
argument  against  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistles,  where- 
as they  seem  to  me  to  mark  out  very  distinctly  the  date 
of  their  composition,  and  to  be,  according  to  Meyer,  Al- 
ford,  and  Van  Oosterzee,  whose  views  I  follow,  a  proof 
of  their  authenticity.  But  they  have  not  only  a  specula- 
tive interest.  Their  special  form  of  error  passes,  but 
their  principle  remains.  And  the  method  of  the  apos- 
tle's treatment  makes  them  intensely  practical  and  gives 
a  lesson  to  every  age.  It  is  this  which  must  interest  and 
edify  you  as  teachers  of  the  truth  here  taught.  If  as 
such  you  rightly  grasp  its  significance,  you  will  not  spend 
your  time  and  strength  on  expositions  of  ancient  Juda- 
ism or  speculative  systems,  but  will  seize  and  press  home 
the  ethical  principles  which  appear  in  the  apostle's  treat- 
ment of  them,  and  which  are  applicable  to  every  age  and 
to  all  error. 

Now  if  we  examine  any  of  these  denunciations  of 
error,  we  find  the  animus  of  the  apostle's  objection  to 
lie  in  their  practical  ungodliness.  Against  both  the 
legal  and  the  speculative  spirit  the  apostle  opposes  "  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God."  He  lets  us  see  that 
*'the  faith  of  Christ"  is  neither  a  system  of  legal  pre- 
cepts nor  a  system  of  intellectual  speculation,  both  of 
which  may  leave  the  heart,  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of 


ST,  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES,  23 

life,  as  barren  as  before.  The  gospel  is  not  to  be  appre- 
hended as  a  subject  of  disputation,  as  a  material  out  of 
which  theories  are  to  be  spun,  as  though  either  perfunc- 
tory behavior  or  mental  comprehension  were  the  result 
aimed  at  by  it.  No,  it  is  a  source  of  life.  It  is  that 
heart-trust  in  God,  as  revealed  in  Christ,  which  must 
hold  the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience,  and  which  cannot 
substitute  either  ritual  acts  (bodily  exercise)  or  intellec- 
tual acuteness  (oppositions  of  science)  for  righteousness 
of  conduct  flowing  from  devotion  of  soul.  "  Now  the  end 
of  the  commandment,"  he  says  (i  Tim.  i  :  5),  "is  charity 
out  of  a  pure  heart  and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith 
unfeigned  ;"  i.  e.,  it  is  faith,  not  the  pretence  of  faith  ;  no 
empty  thought  or  fancy,  but  a  spiritual  light  and  a  spir- 
ual  life.  The  general  character  of  these  false  teachers 
was  not  so  much  error  in  doctrine,  as  leading  men  away 
from  the  earnestness  of  the  living,  Christian  life,  to 
useless  and  vain  questionings,  ministering  only  strife. 
Therefore  St.  Paul  opposed  the  gospel  to  that.  Wheth- 
er in  his  denunciation  of  errorists,  or  his  positive  exhor- 
tations to  Timothy  himself,  the  constant  tenor  of  his 
teaching  is,  faith  and  a  good  conscience :  *'  Take  heed 
unto  thyself  and  to  the  doctrine."  The  body  of  the  gos- 
pel truth  is  righteousness  of  life,  against  all  false  asceti- 
cism on  the  one  hand,  as  well  as  lawless  sensuality  on 
the  other.  Its  soul  is  that  living  alliance  with  the  Lord, 
which  takes  him  for  the  personal  love  of  the  heart.  The 
gospel  faith  is,  as  portrayed  in  the  Epistles,  the  practical 
alliance  of  the  soul  with  Christ.  Its  spring  is  love,  not 
legalism.    Its  effect  is  moral  obedience,  not  mental  spec- 


24  ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

Illation.  And  this  is  so  because  the  gospel  centres  in  a 
living  person.  It  is  not  a  product  of  philosophy  ;  i.  e.,  of 
man's  thought,  but  of  revelation  ;  i.  e.,  of  God's  thought. 
And  this  divine  thought  became  a  human  fact,  and  was 
revealed  in  a  human  Person,  to  whom  all  love  can  be 
given,  and  to  whom  all  obedience  is  due.  Or,  as  it  is 
expressed  in  that  cresting  phrase  of  the  Epistle  to  Tim- 
othy :  "  Without  controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness,  who  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the 
spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  be- 
lieved on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory." 

This  is  one  of  the  celebrated  texts  of  these  Epistles, 
and  we  may  as  well  examine  it  here,  having  arrived  at  it 
in  the  progress  of  our  thought,  before  we  glance  at  the 
ecclesiastical  portion  of  the  Epistles. 

You  will  have  noticed  that  I  did  not  quote  the  pas- 
sage exactly  as  it  stands  in  our  version.  The  best  and 
most  orthodox  scholars  are  now  agreed,  especially  since 
the  light  thrown  upon  the  text  by  the  Sinaitic  Manu- 
script, that  the  word  after  "mystery"  is  not  i^fof/' God," 
but  Of,  "who."  The  rendering  with  the  relative  "who" 
does  not  alter  the  sense  of  divineness,  which  is  expressed 
by  the  substantive,  "  God  ;"  indeed,  it  is  so  expressive  of 
it  that  the  change  in  the  manuscript  seems  to  be  the 
natural  effort  of  some  commentator  to  make  the  mean- 
ing plainer,  not  to  alter  it.  "  There  is  hardly  a  passage 
in  the  New  Testament,"  writes  Dean  Alford,  "in  which 
I  feel  more  deep  personal  thankfulness  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  true  and  wonderful  connection  of  the  original 
text."     And  says  Van  Oosterzee  (who  edits  these  Epis- 


ST,  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  25 

ties  in  Lange's  Commentary),  "  The  reading  '  who'  is  not 
only  critically,  but  exegetically  proved  to  be  the  best, 
and  the  view  that  it  is  an  heretical  corruption  is  quite 
excluded."  The  ground  for  these  expressions  of  learned 
commentators  is  that  the  sentence  is  made  by  the  word 
"who"  so  much  clearer  in  its  connection,  while  undimin- 
ished in  its  divine  meaning.  To  understand  it  fully  we 
must  regard  the  context.  In  the  verse  preceding,  St. 
Paul  explains  the  object  of  his  writing  to  Timothy : 
"  That  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave 
thyself  in  the  house  of  God,  which  is  the  church  of  the 
living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth"  (of  the 
living  God).  "And"  (the  thought  seems  to  run,  well 
may  I  exhort  you  to  behave  well  in  so  responsible  and 
exalted  a  place  where  the  truth  of  the  living  God  is 
guarded),  for  "great,  weighty,  glorious,  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness"  (equivalent  to  the  truth  of  the  living  God)  : 
and  then  follows  the  description  of  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness, which  is  not  that  it  is  a  mere  sentiment,  or  state- 
ment, or  law,  but  a  personal  manifestation  of  God  (the 
article  is  not  neuter,  agreeing  with  mystery,  but  mascu- 
line, and  refers  to  a  person)  ;  not  the  mystery  which  was 
manifest,  but  the  mystery  of  Godliness  who  was  mani- 
fested. This  reading  brings  the  passage  into  exact  ac- 
cord with  Colossians  i  :  27,  where  St.  Paul  defines  the 
mystery  of  the  Gospel  as  something  long  hidden,  but 
now  made  known,  when  he  writes,  "  Even  the  mystery 
which  hath  been  hidden  from  ages  and  from  generations, 
but  now  is  made  manifest  to  his  saints  (to  whom  God 
would  make  known  what  is  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  this 


26  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

mystery  among  the  Gentiles),  which  (mystery)  is  Christ 
in  you  the  hope  of  glory."  Therefore  we  have  announ- 
ced in  this  text  in  i  Timothy  not  something  which  is 
a  great  mystery,  but  the  great  and  glorious  mystery  (of 
Godliness),  what  it  is ;  and  it  is,  as  I  said,  not  a  law,  or 
doctrine,  or  statement,  but  the  manifestion  of  God  in  a 
living  Person;  who  was  manifested  in  the  flesh.  The 
words  are  descriptive  of  Christ  alone,  and  we  learn  from 
them  concerning  him  that  he  was  the  mystery  of  the  liv- 
ing God  revealed  ;  and  we  learn  of  them  concerning  our- 
selves that  the  mystery  of  piety  for  us  is  Christ  in  us. 
This  is  precisely  the  practical  truth  which  the  apostle  is 
teaching  all  through  his  warnings  and  exhortations.  It 
is  the  rich  truth  of  the  Epistle,  which  we  are  to  aim  to 
extract  and  teach  from  every  portion  of  it ;  namely,  the 
religion  of  Christ,  not  a  precept,  not  a  speculation,  but  a 
divine  fact,  in  which  we  are  to  live,  and  which  is  to  live 
in  us  ;  or,  to  follow  the  style  of  the  apostle,  the  religion 
of  the  gospel  a  divine  fact,  God  manifested  in  Christ, 
in  zvhorn  we  are  to  live  and  who  is  to  live  in  us. 

Let  us  turn  to  look  at  the  ecclesiastical  portions  of 
these  Epistles.  These  are  contained  chiefly  in  the  sec- 
ond, third,  and  fifth  chapters  of  i  Timothy  and  the  three 
chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  These  have  been  the 
subject  of  ceaseless  controversy,  but  more  generally  for 
the  facts  they  are  assumed  or  not  assumed  to  presup- 
pose, than  for  the  directions  they  evidently  contain.  The 
difference  of  opinion  is  more  in  regard  to  the  office  held 
by  Timothy  and  Titus,  than  the  office  of  those  to  whom 
they  were  sent,  or  the  directions  of  which  they  were  the 


ST.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPLSTLES,  27 

messengers.  As  our  subject  here  concerns  the  Epistles 
themselves  and  their  contents,  we  may  pass  by  unnoticed 
the  controversy  concerning  the  nature  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal jurisdiction  of  the  apostolic  messengers.  We  need 
not  enter  into  the  question  as  to  whether  they  were  di- 
ocesan bishops  or  evangelistic  missionaries.  On  these 
points  we  may  hold  different  opinions.  Careful  scholars 
on  either  side  would  hesitate  to  say  that  we  could  accu- 
rately determine  this  question  from  the  Epistles  them- 
selves without  light  from  other  literature  ;  and  it  is  with 
the  Epistles  themselves  only  that  we  have  to  do. 

Apart  from  this  vexed  question  then,  it  is  evident, 
from  the  Epistles  themselves,  that  Timothy  and  Titus 
were  commissioned  by  St.  Paul,  and  had  the  two  powers 
of  ordination  and  judicial  rule  (See  i  Tim.  5  : 1,  19,  20, 
22 ;  Titus  1 :  5),  and  whatever  their  rank,  all  candid 
scholars  admit  that  the  terms  bishop  and  elder,  episco- 
pos  and  presbiiteros,  are  here  interchangeably  used. 
Presbyter  was  the  earliest  Jewish  Christian  name,  nomen 
cetatis ;  episcopos  the  later,  taken  from  political  usage 
among  the  Greeks,  nomen  officii.  The  origin  of  the  or- 
der of  deacons  we  know  from  the  Acts.  The  origin  of 
the  order  of  elders  is  not  given.  They  existed  in  the 
Ephesian  church  before  these  Epistles  were  written,  as 
the  elders  came  down  to  meet  St.  Paul  at  Miletus,  when 
he  calls  them  episcopoi.  The  direct  lesson  for  us  con- 
cerning church  government  which  we  are  to  gather  out 
of  these  Epistles,  is  not  the  special  method  of  it,  but  the 
fact  that,  in  the  church,  government  is  of  Divine  institu- 
tion.    The  church  is  to  be  orderly  ;  and  Order  is  the  pa- 


28  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

rent  of  Orders.  There  is  a  power  to  bear  rule,  and  there 
are  those  set  apart  to  exercise  it,  and  to  them  reverence 
and  obedience  are  due.  The  whole  tenor  of  these  in- 
structions to  Timothy  and  Titus  is  a  protest  against  all 
lawlessness  in  the  church.  It  is  to  exercise  discipline, 
and  to  exercise  it  through  duly-appointed  officers.  But 
the  discipline  has  respect  to  sound  doctrine,  or  whole- 
some doctrine,  that  which  tends  to  righteousness  ;  and 
moral  fitness  is  the  indispensable  characteristic  of  those 
who  exercise  it.  The  fact  is,  the  directions  given  in 
these  Epistles  are  of  an  ethical,  not  of  a  hierarchical 
kind.  They  refer  to  the  selection  of  men  whose  previous 
lives  and  relations  in  society  afford  good  promise  that 
they  will  discharge  faithfully  the  trust  committed  to 
them,  and  will  work  faithfully  and  successfully  in  their 
office. 

The  lesson  of  great  practical  importance  to  be  drawn 
from  all  these  directions  is  the  one  of  the  Divine  appoint- 
ment of  rule,  of  the  necessity  of  moral  fitness  for  office, 
and  of  the  responsibility,  both  of  governors  and  governed, 
for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  respective  duties. 

It  is  very  evident,  from  these  Epistles,  that  women 
were  not  mere  ciphers  in  the  church,  and  were  not  meant 
to  be.  They  are  mentioned  specially  in  the  2d  and  5th 
chapters  of  i  Timothy.  In  regard  to  their  teaching  in  the 
general  assembly,  it  is  expressly  forbidden  (2:12):  "I 
suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach,  nor  to  usurp  authority  over 
the  man,  but  to  be  in  silence."  Women  preachers,  what- 
ever else  they  may  be,  are  not  an  apostolic  institution. 
Some  have  argued  from  the  different  status  of  woman 


ST.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  29 

to-day,  that  for  her  now  to  ascend  the  pulpit  and  preach, 
while  it  would  break  the  letter,  would  not  transgress  the 
spirit  of  the  apostle's  injunction,  because  it  is  not  now 
an  unwomanly  act.  They  attribute  the  necessity  of  this 
apostolic  command  to  the  fact  of  woman's  position  in  the 
East,  and  declare  it  to  be  of  a  temporary  and  an  expedi- 
ent character  merely.  To  have  preached  there  and  then 
would  have  brought  the  charge  of  immodesty  against 
the  Christian  community ;  it  would  not  have  comported 
with  Eastern  notions  of  propriety,  and  so  had  to  be  dis- 
countenanced. But  now,  when,  through  the  influence  of 
Christianity,  woman  is  accorded  a  wholly  different  posi- 
tion, different  duties  may  rightly  be  demanded  of  her, 
and  different  functions  permitted  to  her. 

In  opposition  to  this,  I  would  say  that  the  apostle 
based  his  argument  not  on  an  exceptional  condition,  but 
on  a  universal  truth  ;  not  on  the  character  of  Greek  or 
Oriental  civilization  (and  he  knew  Roman  civilization 
and  woman's  position  then),  but  on  the  primitive  relation 
of  the  parents  of  us  all.  "  Adam  was  first  formed,  then 
Eve."  He  views  the  public  act  of  preaching  to  a  mis- 
cellaneous assemblage,  as  contradictory  of  the  true  posi- 
tion and  functions  of  womanhood.  She  is  not  for  less 
noble,  but  for  other  uses  than  that.  I  know  that  in  these 
days  of  "Woman's  Rights,"  this  judgment  of  St.  Paul  is 
considered  a  very  narrow  one  ;  and  men  who  agree  with 
him  are  held  to  be  tyrants  without  his  excuse.  But  not- 
withstanding, I  venture  to  say  that  in  all  the  results  (and 
many  have  been  excellent)  of  the  woman's  movement  of 
our  day,  I  have  never  yet  seen  one  advantage  arising 

26 


30  ST.  PAULS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

from  putting  woman  into  that  publicity  from  which  her 
own  true  nature  shrinks.  There  is  no  gain,  but  infinite 
loss  to  her,  in  according  her  any  station  which  destroys 
or  blurs  the  charm  of  womanhood.  Her  unique  position 
seems  to  me  to  be  plainly  written  in  her  nature,  stamped 
by  her  organization,  and  illustrated  by  her  special  func- 
tions in  society  ;  and  I  deem  that  we  have  the  expression 
of  the  Divine  mind  for  our  age,  as  well  as  for  the  age.  of 
the  apostle,  in  the  words,  "  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach 
nor  to  usurp  authority  over  the  man,  but  to  be  in  silence." 
You  will  see,  of  course,  that  this  direction  has  respect  to 
the  public  functions  of  the  ministry.  It  has  nothing  to 
do  with  unofficial  activity,  or  with  the  ministry  of  conso- 
lation ;  with  woman's  meetings  for  prayer  and  confer- 
ence— all  which  are  not  only  allowable,  but  useful  in  the 
highest  degree.  It  only  accords  to  woman  the  glorious 
privilege  of  being  a  woman  ;  and  places  in  her  hand  a 
potent  weapon  of  defence  when  any  would  urge  her,  on 
the  plea  of  duty,  to  push  beyond  the  barrier  which  the 
delicacy  of  her  nature  and  the  most  sacred  duties  of  her 
position  would  set  up.  It  is  in  fact  an  affirmation  of  that 
greatest  of  woman's  rights — the  right  to  be  a  woman. 

But,  as  I  said,  women  are  not  to  be  ciphers  in  the 
church.  In  i  Tim.,  ch.  5,  we  have  an  indication  of  their 
work  and  power  in  the  church,  in  the  directions  concern- 
ing the  widows,  who  evidently  were  not  merely  the  ben- 
eficiaries of  the  congregation,  but  formed  part  of  a  corps 
of  workers  in  the  church.  It  would  be  too  much  to 
assume,  and  would  doubtless  anticipate  the  future,  to 
call  them  an  order  of  deaconesses,  though  this  opinion 


ST.  PAUVS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  31 

has  been  widely  held ;  but  they  undoubtedly  held  in  a 
simple  and  less-organized  form  the  virtual  position,  after- 
ward organized  into  the  early  order  of  church  deacon- 
esses, and  were  the  original  germ  from  which  such  an 
order  sprung.  But  here  we  find  no  trace  of  a  vow  of 
ordination,  no  semi-clerical  office  which  marked  the  order 
which  Canon  XI.  of  Laodicea  formally  established. 
Exact  distinctions  of  class  and  name  do  not  suit  the 
character  of  the  primitive  age.  These  women  were 
doubtless  real  widows,  not  the  nominal  widows  of  a  later 
age,  called  so  because  of  their  renunciation  of  the  world 
and  of  domestic  life.  They  were  persons  who  had  been 
married  (5  : 9),  and  now,  in  their  advanced  age,  gave 
their  activity  to  the  affairs  of  the  Christian  community. 
The  character  of  their  work  is  sketched  in  ver.  10,  as 
also  in  ver.  5.  Benevolence  and  devotion  combined  to 
form  woman's  official  occupation. 

It  is  not  so  much  for  the  special  feature  it  reveals,  as 
for  the  universal  fact  it  emphasizes,  that  we  prize  the 
passage.  It  gives  the  seal  of  the  apostle's  approbation 
to  woman's  work  in  the  church  of  Christ ;  and  would 
that  the  strong  common  sense  here  manifest  could  mark 
all  attempts  to  organize  and  conduct  it.  How  marked 
in  contrast  do  the  apostle's  precepts  stand  to  the  early 
novitiate  of  many  in  the  conventual  orders,  who,  without 
experience,  renounce  the  world  before  ever  they  have 
attempted  to  accomplish  their  task  in  it;  where  separa- 
tion from  domestic  life  and  family  ties  are  made  in  direct 
contradiction  of  the  apostle's  decision,  that  the  young 
women  are. to  marry,  and  train  their  households  well, 


32  ST.  FAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES, 

and  are  only  thus  to  gain  the  discipline  and  the  matured 
experience  which  fit  them  for  the  position  of  fellow-work- 
ers in  the  congregation  of  the  faithful.  It  is  not  the 
girlish  sentimentality  which  turns  to  the  imagined  poetry 
and  mystic  seclusion  of  the  cloister  as  its  ideal  life,  which 
the  apostle  in  these  Epistles  endorses ;  but  rather  the 
sobered  devotion  of  those  who  have  known  life's  vicissi- 
tudes, and  deepened  and  strengthened  their  religious  fer- 
vor by  an  experience  of  life's  discipline. 

Indeed, 'in  the  treatment  of  every  subject  which  the 
apostle  touches  in  these  letters  there  is  apparent  the 
equipoise  of  the  loftiest  enthusiasm  for  the  subject,  and 
the  plainest  common  sense  in  its  treatment — a  balance 
which  awakens  confidence  by  both  its  earthly  and  its 
heavenly  wisdom ;  the  heavenly  wisdom  of  undying  de- 
votion, the  earthly  wisdom  of  uncompromising  discretion. 
A  lesson  we  may  well  learn  and  teach  from  any  portion 
of  the  Epistles,  is  the  lesson  of  "zeal  according  to  knowl- 
edge"— the  lesson  of  the  love  which  inspires  and  the 
wisdom  which  guides.  In  fine,  there  runs  through  all 
these  letters  that  true  practical  strain  which  traces  the 
fruit  to  the  root,  and  develops  the  root  into  the  fruit  of 
the  Gospel.  The  action  and  reaction  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice are  everywhere  made  apparent.  Take  i  Tim.  6 :  lo, 
where  he  declares  against  covetousness,  and  writes,  "  The 
love  of  money  is  a  root  of  all  evil,"  and  traces  as  one 
of  those  evils  the  loss  of  faith  itself ;  "  which  some  hav- 
ing coveted  after,  have  erred  from  the  faith  ;"  practical 
wrong-doing  resulting  in  mental  bewilderment,  or  as  in 
I  Tim.  1:19,  where,  speaking  of  holding  faith  and  a  good 


ST.  PAUL'S  PASTORAL  EPLSTLES.  33 

conscience,  he  says,  which  (a  good  conscience)  some  hav- 
ing laid  aside,  "concerning  faith  have  made  shipwreck." 
And  again  in  that  oft-misquoted  passage,  2  Tim.  3  :  16, 
where,  while  he  is  not  giving  the  statistical  Hmits  of 
inspired  writing,  nor  compiling  a  canon  of  Scripture, 
but  indicating  its  object  and  value,  he  declares,  "All  in- 
spired or  God-given  Scripture  is  profitable  for  doctrine, 
for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness, 
that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  all  good  works."  He  is  here  expressly  avoiding  a 
question  of  strifes  and  jangling,  a  controversy  concerning 
^vhat  are  and  what  are  not  Holy  Scriptures,  and  is  indi- 
cating the  sure  touchstone  by  which  they  may  be  discrim- 
inated, even  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  given — 
which  is  not  a  worship  of  their  letter,  but  the  incorpora- 
tion of  their  spirit  in  the  life  and  action  of  those  who 
read  them.  Judged  by  such  a  test,  how  fully  is  the 
inspiration  of  these  writings  themselves  vindicated  and 
confirmed.  They  are  addressed  to  the  correction  of 
special  faults  and  errors  of  that  far-off  time.  They  are 
written  to  give  order  and  peace  to  the  Christian  commu- 
nity of  a  far  distant  age.  They  record  passages  of  an 
old  experience,  and  are  laden  with  exhortations  to  a 
youthful  minister  who  lived  in  circumstances  greatly  dif- 
ferent from  our  own.  Yet  how  living  they  are  to  us ! 
They  let  us  see  that  the  primitive  church  was  no  happy 
family  wherein  no  errors  found  lodgment,  and  no  brawls 
disturbed  the  peace,  but  a  church  militant  like  that  of 
our  own  day,  with  foes  of  the  household  as  well  as  of  the 
camp.     Within  were  fightings  and  without  were  fears. 

26* 


34  ST.  PAUrS  PASTORAL  EPISTLES. 

But  they  let  us  know,  too,  that  the  true  solvent  of  our 
troubles  was  the  one  applied  to  their  own  ;  which  solvent 
is  not  to  be  found  in  a  code  of  rigid  laws,  a  legalism  of 
edicts,  and  bulls,  and  encyclicals  and  canons  ecclesiasti- 
cal ;  not  in  a  speculative  philosophy,  nor  the  refinements 
of  intellectual  dogmatism  ;  but  in  Him  only  who  was  the 
great  Mystery  of  Godliness,  who  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  the  Lord  himself ;  Whom  to  follow  is  to  war  a  good 
warfare ;  Whom  to  love  is  everlasting  life. 


THE 


Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 


BY  REV,  C.  H,  FOWLER,  D.D.,LL,D., 

NEW  YORK. 


THE 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 


The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  brings  us  face  to  face 
with  the  great  unsolved  problems  of  existence.  It  grap- 
ples with  them  as  if  confident  of  victory.  Like  some 
stalwart  knight  who,  disguised  by  the  very  brightness  of 
his  armor,  and  riding  into  the  circle  of  titled  champions, 
unannounced  and  unendorsed,  with  no  title  but  his  cour- 
age, and  no  passport  but  his  sword,  hews  for  himself  a 
path  to  power,  and  bears  off  the  fear  of  foes,  the  admira- 
tion of  strangers,  and  the  confidence  of  all :  so  our 
Epistle  comes  into  the  field  of  our  convictions,  joins 
the  goodly  company  of  canonical  books,  and  with  no 
apostolic  name  for  authority,  and  no  clear  tradition  for 
defenoe,  it  shines  with  the  fulness  of  apostolic  inspi* 
ration,  and  by  the  power  of  its  marvellous  revealments 
demonstrates  both  its  supernatural  origin  and  its  divine 
authority. 

It  comes  out  of  the  apostolic  age  with  apostolic  in- 
spiration, but  with  no  certain  apostolic  name.  It  made 
its  way  late  into  the  canon,  coming  in  by  the  way  of  the 


4  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

Eastern  church,  and  so  slowly  gaining  the  recognition  of 
the  Western  church.  But  its  internal  structure  and  vi- 
tality, its  spirit  and  power,  have  dissipated  all  doubts 
about  its  right  to  recognition,  and  have  secured  for  it  the 
highest  encomiums  from  modern  scholarship.  It  rises  to 
the  highest  themes  of  possible  revelation,  yet  it  handles 
them  in  the  most  human  and  natural  way.  Now  and 
then  it  ventures  upon  interpretations  of  older  Scriptures 
with  a  freedom  justified  only  by  inspiration.  Yet  it  re- 
lies upon  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  for  its  argu- 
ments, and  seeks  not  so  much  to  make  a  new  revelation, 
as  to  unfold  the  germs  of  the  old.  While  the  Roman 
Epistle  of  the  great  Paul  presents  the  theology,  the  doc- 
trine and  divinity  of  the  New  Testament,  and  is  essen- 
tial to  a  comprehension  of  the  Gospels,  this  Epistle  of 
the  "  Great  Unknown  "  unfolds  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  the  relations  existing  between  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  the  New.  Some  have  called  it  an  epistle, 
some  an  essay,  some  a  treatise  on  theology  ;  but  if  we 
were  to  name  it  we  would  call  it  The  Gospel  of  the 
Old  Testament  unfolded  by  the  light  of  the  New. 
It  presents  the  priest,  rather  than  the  victim,  and  fa- 
miliarizes the  reader  more  with  heavenly  things  than 
with  the  Cross.  Elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament  Jesus 
is  regarded  chiefly  as  a  King ;  here  he  is  seen  chiefly  as 
a  Priest.  While  the  evangelists  dealt  with  the  incarnated 
Christ,  and  Paul  constantly  defended  his  apostolic  char- 
acter as  one  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  yet  in  treating  of 
Jesus  as  King  they  were  occupied  with  an  invisible  king- 
dom, and  were  thus  necessarily  led  to  handle  principles. 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  5 

In  our  Epistle  the  author  toils  and  builds  about  the 
priesthood  of  Jesus,  which,  being  in  his  church,  had  a 
visible  embodiment ;  and  maturing  through  the  Old  Tes- 
tament rites  and  ritual,  was  constantly  handled  by  visible 
signs.  Its  necessary  environments  therefore  made  it 
both  ponderable  and  tangible.  Thus  this  Epistle  comes 
nearer  to  our  capacities  than  any  other  part  of  the  New 
Testament,  except  the  Gospels  themselves,  which  in  their 
chief  character  took  on  our  form,  had  an  experience,  and 
became  like  unto  us.  The  rest  of  the  New  Testament 
exhibits  the  Son  of  God  as  heir  to  the  eternal  throne  ; 
this  Epistle  as  High  Priest  in  the  eternal  sanctuary. 
The  evangelists  exhibit  the  law  not  as  destroyed,  but  as 
fulfilled  by  the  Son  of  God  ;  Paul  exhibits  the  law  as  a 
wandering  schoolmaster  leading  the  worshipper  to  Christ ; 
this  Epistle  exhibits  the  law  as  administered  by  the 
Great  High  Priest.  The  evangelists,  by  the  tragedy  of 
Calvary,  give  us  the  breadth  of  human  wickedness  and 
want;  Paul,  by  the  faith  that  overleaps  the  middle  wall 
of  partition,  gives  us  a  glance  at  the  breadth  of  Divine 
love  ;  this  Epistle,  by  exhibiting  the  web,  woven  from 
the  garden  of  Eden  to  the  most  holy  place  in  the  heav- 
ens, shows  us  a  little  of  the  breadth  of  that  wonderful 
revelation  by  which  Infinite  Wisdom  is  seeking  the  edu- 
cation and  salvation  of  the  race. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  this  Epistle  carefully  and  not 
be  impressed  with  that  "  unfolding  in  time  of  the  eternal 
purpose  of  redeeming  love,"  which  can  best  be  grasped 
and  comprehended  as  \^^  growth  of  revelation.  We  get 
a  hurried  glance  at  the  "divers  manners"  in  which  God 


6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS, 

has  revealed  his  truth,  and  then  we  are  led  into  the  mys- 
tery of  our  spiritual  instruction.  Revelation  is  a  germ 
in  the  hand  of  our  first  parent  in  Eden,  and  as  we  watch 
it  it  soon  waves  like  the  cedars  of  Lebanon.  It  was  a 
dim  promise  of  a  Deliverer,  a  statement  that  somewhere, 
somehow,  some  time,  the  bruised  and  bruising  heel  would 
appear,  so  dim  that  a  murderer  was  mistaken  for  this 
Deliverer.  When  Earth's  first  mother,  in  the  bewilder- 
ment of  bearing  her  first  son,  cried  out,  "  I  have  gotten 

a  man the  Lord,"  this  dim  promise  was  added  to 

and  built  upon  till  holy  fire,  blazing  on  the  altars  of  the 
patriarchs,  illumined  the  darkness  of  nature ;  till  a  pre- 
scribed and  ratified  covenant  secured  a  chosen  people 
and  visible  covenant ;  till  a  tabernacle  with  a  Holy  of 
Holies  contained  the  shining  presence  of  God  ;  till  a  tem- 
ple, made  after  the  pattern  seen  in  the  Mount,  gave  per- 
manence to  both  ritual  and  service  ;  till  prophets  dis- 
closed the  offering  of  the  Great  Sacrifice  ;  till  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time  Christ  came  and  his  Spirit  was  poured  out 
upon  all  flesh.  This  Epistle,  more  than  any  other  part 
of  the  Bible,  gives  us  the  unity  and  completeness  of  all 
this  revealment.  As  we  read,  the  ages  roll  together,  hu- 
manity is  condensed  into  one  family,  and  the  Divine  rev- 
elations are  reduced  to  one  lesson  given  and  perfected  by 
God's  Son.  Yonder  it  is  but  a  bubbling  spring,  hardly 
able  to  lift  a  single  shining  grain  of  sand  into  the  light ; 
so  small  that  the  foot  of  the  passing  ox  might  trample  it 
out,  or  the  thirst  of  a  single  sunbeam  might  drink  it  dry. 
Soon  it  overflows  its  narrow  brim,  trickles  down  the 
hillside,  crawls  under  the  willows,  vivifies  and  fructifies 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  7 

its  green  way  through  the  meadow,  pushes  across  states 
and  territories,  and  sweeps  on  over  wide  zones,  bearing 
on  its  broad  bosom  the  commerce  and  navies  of  man- 
kind. Yonder  the  "father  of  the  faithful"  pays  tithes  to 
a  Gentile  priest ;  next  the  washed  and  robed  priests  min- 
ister for  the  chosen  people.  Finally  the  Great  High 
Priest  enters  within  the  veil  and  offers  the  one  full  and 
sufficient  sacrifice  once  for  all,  and  sits  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  This  great  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  so  complete  and  so  profound,  so  comprehen- 
sive and  so  minute,  shows  us  Jesus  as  the  author  of  the 
first  covenant  and  the  finisher  of  the  second,  leading  Is- 
rael out  of  the  land  of  bondage  and  delivering  mankind 
from  the  bonds  of  iniquity. 

At  first  thought  it  seems  strange  that  so  great  an 
epistle  should  be  left  without  an  evident  author.  But 
then  it  soon  occurs  that  so  great  a  Book,  so  deeply  wo- 
ven into  the  religious  history  of  two  thousand  years,  so 
closely  in  league  with  events,  does  not  need  the  bolster- 
ing of  any  particular  apostolic  name  to  insure  its  author- 
ity. It  is  enough  that  it  is  vitalized  with  the  spirit  of 
inspiration  and  radiant  with  the  light  of  the  eternal 
world  ;  enough  that,  building  us  up  upon  fifteen  cen- 
turies of  sacrifices  and  types,  it  gives  us  first  the  shad- 
ow in  these  types,  then  the  express  image  in  the  in- 
carnated High  Priest,  and  lastly  a  glimpse  at  the  sub- 
stance, the  reality  that  awaits  the  believer  in  the  world 
to  come. 

While  we  cannot  go  into  a  detailed  argument  show- 
ing why  modern  scholars  are  looking  elsewhere  than  to 

27 


S  THE  EFISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

St.  Paul  for  the  author  of  this  Epistle,  we  do  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  pass  this  over  in  silence.  We  must  at  least 
give  an  opinion  based  upon  an  examination  of  the  evi- 
dence in  the  case.  We  are  compelled  to  abandon  the 
theory  of  a  Pauline  authorship,  partly  because  it  treats 
its  subjects  so  differently  from  Paul's  treatment  in  other 
epistles.  Paul  always  begins  with  man's  need,  and  rea- 
sons out  to  the  supply  in  Christ.  Hebrews  begins  with 
Christ's  exalted  character,  and  leads  down  to  man's  need. 
Paul  emphasizes  the  victim  ;  Hebrews  the  priest.  Paul 
gazes  on  the  cross  ;  Hebrews  into  the  heavenly  places. 
The  argument  deduced  from  the  style  of  the  Greek  used 
is  of  great  weight.  Paul  is  rugged  ;  Hebrews  melodious. 
Paul  is  angular;  Hebrews  flows. like  oil.  Paul  is  limi- 
tedly  provincial ;  Hebrews  is  classical.  More  decisive 
than  these  peculiarities  of  language  and  style,  which  are 
far  greater  than  the  demands  of  the  varying  subjects  and 
circumstances,  must  be  regarded  the  statement  in  chap. 
2 : 3,  which  classes  the  author  as  one  who  never  saw  the 
Lord,  "which  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the 
Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard 
him,"  while  Paul  always  defended  his  apostleship  by  the 
fact  that  he  too  had  seen  the  Lord. 

It  is  of  sufficient  value  to  justify  the  introduction 
here  of  the  fact  that  Bleek,  according  to  Dr.  Mall,  has 
shown  that  the  citations  in  Hebrews  from  the  Old  Tes- 
tament are  all  from  the  LXX,  and  follow  the  variations 
of  the  Alexandrian  Codex,  whih  Paul,  in  citing  the  LXX, 
always  follows  the  Vatican  Codex. 

This  fact  is  introduced  not  simply  because  it  is  very 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  9 

nearly  determinative  of  the  non-Pauline  authorship  of 
this  Epistle,  but  also  because  it  furnishes  a  good  example 
of  the  care  with  which  every  syllable  and  letter  of  this 
sacred  Book  has  been  examined.  This  opens  the  door 
and  gives  us  a  glance  into  the  furnace  in  which  these 
sacred  oracles  are  tested.  Surely  if  the  form  of  the 
Fourth  was  not  with  them,  we  should  not  have  them  to- 
day without  even  the  smell  of  fire  upon  them.  While  all 
things  are  being  proved  or  tested,  let  us  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good. 

The  theory  first  made  prominent  by  Martin  Luther 
that  Apollos  was  the  author  of  this  Epistle  is  now  gen- 
eraljy;  accepted.  He  was  a  man  "  with  great  power  to 
convince  the  Jews  from  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,"  and  a  man  whom  some  of  the 
Greek  Christians  preferred  to  Paul  on  account  of  his  elo- 
quence. Though  this  theory  is  without  support  from 
Scripture  or  tradition,  yet  it  is  gaining  ground.  The 
canonical  character  of  the  Epistle  is  not  affected  in  the 
least  by  this  probable  authorship.  The  Epistle  remains 
a  Gospel  fivm  the  Old  Testament. 

This  exalted  character  of  this  Epistle  is  sustained  by 
the  fulness  with  which  it  discovers  the  meaning  of  the 
old  types.  The  march  of  knowledge  is  always  from 
the  known  to  the  unknown.  This  involves  figures,  com- 
parisons, illustrations,  and  types.  These  types  were 
ordained  to  foreshadow  the  truths  that  waited  by  the 
thousand  years  for  capacity  in  the  race  for  their  recep- 
tion. Take  this  ninth  chapter,  and  with  it  walk  back  into 
the  old  temple  service  on  the  great  day  of  atonement, 


lo  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

and  how  much  of  Divine  truth  blazes  from  those  old 
forms  and  ceremonies  !  While  we  bow  on  the  pavement 
with  the  great  congregation,  waiting  for  the  annual  en- 
trance into  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  high  priest,  our 
representative,  and  holding  this  ninth  chapter  in  our 
hands,  how  our  faith  is  strengthened  in  these  rites  when 
we  read  concerning  these  types,  "  The  Holy  Ghost  this 
signifying,  that  the  way  into  the  Holiest  was  not  yet 
made  manifest."  Surely  this  gives  a  divine  light  to  all 
these  ceremonies.  We  are  surrounded  with  Gospel  ideas. 
The  great  sacrifice  is  made  on  our  behalf.  Pardon,  the 
remission  of  our  sins,  is  vicariously  reached.  An  essen- 
tial Calvary  rises  before  our  eyes,  a  shadowy  cross  stretch- 
es out  its  arms  for  our  embrace.  We  are  surrounded  with 
the  supernatural  revealments  of  a  supernatural  salvation. 
Prophecy  is  in  the  place  of  history.  True,  the  glass  is 
reversed,  and  the  image  of  the  good  things  is  very  small, 
but  it  is  an  image.  The  reality  is  taken  by  faith  in  each 
case — faith  in  the  divine  word  as  to  what  is  to  be,  as 
in  the  divine  word  as  to  what  has  been.  This  Epistle 
opens  all  the  ages  back  to  Abel.  It  marches  through  all 
the  centuries  with  the  unquenchable  torch  of  its  holy 
fire,  and  kindles  the  flames  on  every  altar,  in  every  dark 
valley  and  on  every  mountain  side.  It  transforms  every 
bleeding  victim  and  offering  priest  and  blazing  altar  into 
footlights  about  Mount  Calvary.  It  quickens  into  life, 
as  with  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty,  the  vast  body  of 
Old  Testament  ritual  and  service.  It  unlocks  the  bosom 
of  every  Hebrew  worshipper,  and  exposes  to  open  gaze 
the  secret  faith  that  elevated  him  above  the  low  plane  of 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  ii 

corrupting  idolatry,  and  exalted  him  into  personal  com- 
munion with  the  living  God.  This  Epistle  collects  and 
exhibits  the  Gospel  of  the  Old  Testament  Dispensa- 
tion. 

The  analysis  of  the  Epistle  is  not  difficult.  The  only 
chance  for  mistake  is  in  attempting  to  dissect  it  with  a 
knife,  instead  of  analyzing  it  in  a  retort.  It  must  not  go 
into  the  dissecting-room,  but  into  the  laboratory.  It  can 
be  measured,  not  by  a  yard-stick,  but  by  a  spirit  test. 
Taken  as  a  living  orgajiism,  with  a  certain  design,  it  will 
not  be  difficult  to  determine  the  function  of  each  part. 

It  was  probably  written  to  the  Jews  dwelling  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  who  were  just  breaking  up  their  old  habit  of 
attendance  upon  the  services  of  the  temple,  and  who  were 
thus  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  peril  of  relapsing  into  Juda- 
ism. It  seems  to  have  been  written  by  some  Jew,  like 
Apollos,  trained  and  perfected  in  Alexandrian  Greek,  and 
familiar  with  the  temple  service  as  ordered  by  Moses, 
rather  than  the  actual  service  as  conducted  in  Jerusalem. 
From  this  standpoint  the  Epistle  must  be  'considered, 
not  as  an  argument  and  exhortation,  like  some  sermons, 
in  which  the  argument  serves  as  a  stock  on  which  to  swing 
round  the  exhortation  as  a  lash,  but  as  a  living  organism 
created  for  certain  uses,  in  which  the  different  parts  are 
not  only  fitted  into  each  other,  but  grow  out  of  and  into 
each  other.  The  doctrine  or  argument  of  the  Epistle  is 
more  like  a  skeleton  than  a  stalk,  and  the  exhortations, 
for  they  are  many  and  frequent,  grow  upon  and  are 
attached  to  the  bones  from  end  to  end. 

The  aim  of  the  Epistle  is  to  prevent  apostasy  orrelap- 
27* 


12  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

shig  into  yitdaisin.  The  argument  is  centred  about  this 
idea.  The  design  of  the  old  service  is  therefore  present- 
ed, and  its  relations  to  the  perfected  system  of  Christian- 
ity pointed  out.  The  superiority  of  Christianity  is  ar- 
gued, and  applications  and  exhortations  are  frequently 
interjected. 

TJie  spinal  CO htmn  of  tJie  argument  is  the  exalted  High 
Priesthood  of  ycsus.  The  high  priest  is  the  central 
figure  in  every  sacrificial  system,  He  is  a  necessity  cre- 
ated by  the  guilt  that  demands  or  resorts  to  sacrifice. 
The  worshipper  is  guilty,  and  therefore  consciously  un- 
worthy. Some  one  must  represent  him  and  offer  his 
gifts,  and  make  peace  for  him.  Thus  the  central  claim 
urged  is  the  exalted  Priesthood  of  Jesus. 

The  law  was  given  in  consideration  of  a  Priesthood 
to  administer  its  rights  and  services,  and  as  a  trainer  or 
schoolmaster,  to  be  temporary.  Thus  it  is  said,  "The 
priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity  a 
change  also  of  the  law."     (Heb.  7:12.) 

The  Priesthood  of  Jesus  is  expressly  declared  to  be 
the  central  thought  concerning  him.  The  eighth  chap- 
ter, after  the  great  argument,  showing  the  exaltation  of 
Jesus,  from  many  considerations,  and  well  on  toward  the 
end  of  the  argument,  opens  with  these  words,  "  Now  of 
the  things  which  we  have  spoken  this  is  the  sum.  We 
have  such  a  high  priest,  who  is  set  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens ;  a  minister  of 
the  sanctuary,  and  of  the  true  tabernacle  which  the  Lord 
pitched  and  not  man." 

While  Romans  deals  with  law  and  the  sacrifice  and 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  13 

faith,  Hebrews  emphasizes  the  Priesthood.  There  were 
good  reasons  why  this  part  of  Christ's  character  and 
work  could  not  have  been  presented  earlier  in  the  history 
of  the  infant  church.  The  Jews  were  looking  for  a  Mes- 
siah, with  kingly  qualities,  suited  to  their  temporal  needs. 
That  was  one  open  door  through  which  Jesus  might  enter 
their  hearts.  Then  \S\€\x patriotism  would  have  prevent- 
ed their  comprehending  his  Priesthood.  Thus  in  Acts 
we  see  how  they  stone  Stephen,  charging  him  with  speak- 
ing against  the  temple,  and  saying  that  Jesus  would 
change  the  customs  of  Moses.  So  they  sought  to  kill 
Paul  in  the  temple  for  alleged  teaching  against  the  tem- 
ple and  bringing  Greeks  into  it.  At  the  probable  date 
of  this  Epistle,  about  64,  the  breach  between  the  Jews  as 
a  nation  and  Christians  was  complete.  The  Christians 
were  no  longer  allowed  to  come  into  the  temple.  The 
national  hatred  was  as  intense  and  bloodthirsty  as  it 
could  be,  so  that  the  presentation  of  the  Priesthood  of 
Jesus  could  not  prejudice  their  case  any  more.  The  ful- 
ness of  time  for  this  doctrine  had  come. 

The  argimieiit  sustaining  the  exalted  Priesthood  of 
Jesus  opens  with  the  opening  of  the  Epistle.  Jesus  is  set 
forth  as  the  Son  of  God,  having  the  same  nature,  being 
his  express  image,  making  the  worlds,  upholding  all 
things,  and  receiving  the  worship  of  aHgels.  The  argu- 
ment is  most  wonderful.  Complete  and  determinative  in 
its  character,  it  is  also  majestic  and  mighty  in  its  move- 
ment. "  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever  ;  a  scep- 
tre of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom.  Thou, 
Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the 


14  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hands.  They 
shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest ;  and  they  all  shall  wax 
old  as  doth  a  garment,  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold 
them  up  ;  and  they  shall  be  changed ;  but  thou  art  the 
same,  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail."     (Heb.  i  :8-i2.) 

This  is  accompanied  with  his  elevation  above  all 
angels  and  all  things. 

In  the  second  chapter  our  author  pauses  to  show  how 
the  incarnation  and  suffering  of  Jesus  prepared  Him  for 
his  work  of  ''bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,"  and  ex- 
horts obedience  to  him.  In  the  third  chapter  Jesus  is 
exalted  above  Moses,  as  the  maker  of  a  house  is  greater 
than  a  servant  in  the  house.  His  claim  and  supremacy 
are  urged  on  account  of  his  sinlessness  and  his  ante- 
mundane  glory. 

The  most  of  the  third  and  all  the  fourth  chapters  are 
intense  exhortations  to  faithfulness,  and  encouragements 
to  come  unto  the  great  High  Priest,  who,  having  been 
tempted,  and  having  suffered,  is  touched  with  the  feeling 
of  our  infirmities. 

Having  established  the  divinity  and  sympathy  of 
Jesus,  our  Epistle  proceeds  to  show  the  exaltation  of  his 
Priesthood  over  all  other  priesthoods. 

Having  shown  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  above  Moses,  it 
is  easy  to  show  his  exaltation  above  Aaron,  whom  Moses 
constituted  a  priest.  This  is  done  by  going  back  to  the 
priesthood  of  Melchizedec,  who  was  greater  even  than 
Abraham,  in  whose  loins  Levi  and  all  the  Levitical  priests 
paid  tithes  to  Melchizedec.  This  man's  priesthood,  after 
which    Christ's  was   typed,   was  greater  than  Aaron's, 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  15 

because  it  was  not  for  one  people,  but  for  all  peoples,  and 
was  without  end,  and  not  temporary. 

The  Priesthood  of  Jesus  was  also  confirmed  by  an 
'  oath,  and  was  made  surety  of  a  better  covenant.  The 
Levitical  priests  were  continually  changing,  while  this 
man  had  an  unchangeable  priesthood. 

The  failure  of  the  old  system  to  perfect  the  worship- 
pers is  not  charged  upon  any  sins  of  the  priests,  but  upon 
the  system  itself.  The  Priesthood  of  Jesus  purges  or 
cleanses  its  subjects,  and  has  this  supreme  dignity. 
The  Epistle  runs  on  from  the  beginning,  showing  the 
divinity  of  Jesus,  and  how  he  is  greater  than  Moses,  and 
has  a  Priesthood  that  swallows  up  the  Aaronic  priest- 
hood, and  is  applied  to  the  whole  race,  like  the  priest- 
hood of  Melchizedec,  till  it  reaches  the  eighth  chapter, 
sixth  verse,  when  we  are  told,  "  But  now  hath  he  ob- 
tained a  more  excellent  ministry,  by  how  much  also  he 
is  the  Mediator  of  a  better  covenant."  Here  our  author 
swings  out  into  another  line  of  thought,  and  identifies 
Jesus  with  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  who  made 
the  old  covenant  when  he  took  Israel  by  the  hand  and 
led  her  out  of  Egypt.  The  various  sides  of  the  work  of 
Jesus  in  Redemption  are  brought  before  the  mind.  The 
victim  and  the  priest  are  united,  so  the  work  of  atoning 
and  of  administering  the  atonement  are  presented  as 
?  embodied  in  Jesus.  This  better  covenant  is  offered  as  a 
part  of  the  dignity  of  our  Great  High  Priest, 

Jesus  is  brought  before  us  as  on  the  great  day  of 
atonement.  The  parallel  between  the  old  typical  work 
in  which  the  high  priest  offered  sacrifices  for  himself,  and 


1 6  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

for  the  temple  and  for  all  its  appointments,  and  then  for 
the  sins  of  the  people,  is  carefully  traced.  Jesus  as  High 
Priest  offers  himself  once  for  all ;  and  having  thus  com- 
pleted and  perfected  the  system  of  Old  Testament  wor- 
ship and  types,  he  sits  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  High  to  await  the  results  of  his  sacrifice  as 
they  shall  appear  in  the  salvation  of  a  lost  race. 

TJte  great  doctrine  of  blood  atonement,  "  without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission,"  is  affirmed, 
illustrated,  and  sanctified.  It  receives  the  infinite  empha- 
sis of  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  However  much 
modern  skepticism  may  be  offended  at  the  blood  atone- 
ment, yet  this  Epistle  reaches  back  through  the  centuries, 
lifts  the  high  priest  and  his  victim,  the  blood  of  sprinkling 
and  the  blood  of  cleansing,  out  of  every  shade  of  heathen- 
ism, and  by  the  death,  resurrection,  ascension,  and  inter- 
cession of  Jesus,  gives  us  a  way  of  approach  even  into 
the  presence  of  God.  We  are  enabled  to  come  boldly  to 
the  mercy-seat  and  obtain  grace  for  our  needs.  Here  we 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
Bible — the  offering  of  a  life  for  sin  that  forfeits  life — that 
was  first  illustrated  by  the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  Abel, 
and  was  taught  by  every  sacrificial  offering  that  stained 
an  altar  or  cheered  the  church  from  Abel  to  Jesus.  The 
flames  that  flickered  heavenward  century  after  century, 
burned  on  night  and  day  through  the  ages,  consuming 
the  victims  and  types  of  the  passing  system,  kindled  at 
last  upon  the  victim  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  They  consumed  his  humanity,  but  when  they 
came  to  his  divinity  they  went  out  never  again  to  be  re- 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  17 

kindled.  An  argument  divinely  constructed,  and  drawn 
out  through  fifteen  centuries  of  supernatural  attestations, 
and  crowned  with  the  awful  tragedy  of  Calvary  and  the 
amazing  miracles  of  the  resurrection  and  ascension,  can- 
not be  answered  by  the  dulness  or  blindness  or  scoffing 
of  a  few  doubters.  Conscious  of  our  sins  we  know  that 
the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  that 
Jesus  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  them 
that  believe,  that  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  who  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world.  Take  the  doctrines  of  atonement,  as  em- 
bodied in  this  Epistle,  out  of  the  Bible,  and  the  book 
would  not  hold  together.  All  the  light  of  Old  Testa- 
ment ages  that  was  borrowed  from  the  coming  Sun  of 
Righteousness  would  be  extinguished,  leaving  all  those 
generations  in  hopelessness.  Whatever  there  is  about 
the  tragedy  of  Mount  Calvary  that  has  gone  forth 
among  the  idolatrous  and  heathen  nations,  quenching 
their  false  fires  and  destroying  their  idols,  is  centred  in 
the  atonement  as  explained  by  this  Epistle.  Other  sac- 
rifices cease  because  Jesus  has  suffered  once  for  all. 
In  him  is  all  fulness.  "  Having,  therefore,  brethren, 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of 
faith." 

The  lessons  of  this  Epistle  are  too  numerous  to  be 
catalogued  in  much  less  space  than  that  occupied  by  the 
Epistle  itself.  It  is  a  great  mass  of  world-embracing 
truths  filled  in  with    constantly-recurring  exhortations. 


i8  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

Adult  babes,  persons  who  are  men  in  years  and  babes  in 
wisdom  and  strength,  are  set  on  thinking  about  their 
responsibilities.  While  the  great  doctrine  of  salvation 
by  faith  is  not  slighted  or  shadowed,  there  comes  out  the 
counterpart  of  this  vital  truth,  that  while  we  are  saved  by 
faithy  we  are  rewarded  according  to  our  zvoi'ks.  Entering 
heaven  with  a  common  password,  the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
cleansed  in  a  common  fountain,  the  blood  of  Jesus,  we 
pass  up  to  our  places  in  the  presence  of  the  King  on  the 
works  of  righteousness  we  have  wrought  in  his  name, 
assured  in  this  Epistle  that  "  God  is  not  unrighteous  to 
forget  our  work  and  labor  of  love." 

Passing  over  in  silence  many  great  truths,  such  as 
the  power  of  faith — to  which  much  space  is  given — let  us 
briefly  glance  at  some  that  seem  to  be  incorporated  in 
the  very  groundwork  of  this  marvellous  Epistle. 

In  this  long  and  yet  condensed  summary  of  all  God's 
revealments  through  all  past  history,  only  two  possible 
ivays  of  treating  sin  for  its  correction  and  cure  are  even 
so  much  as  hinted  at.  These  are  by  law  for  its  conviction 
and  condemnation,  and  by  the  Gospel  for  pardon  and 
cleansing.  It  never  dawns  upon,  one  of  the  sacred  writers 
that  it  can  be  treated  in  any  other  way  than  as  the  mor- 
tal tormentor  of  man  and  enemy  of  God.  It  never  con- 
ceals its  deformity  under  any  cloak  of  ignorance.  Mere 
knowledge  is  never  prescribed  as  an  antidote  for  this 
disease.  It  is  never  thought  of  as  a  mere  trial  necessary 
for  the  acquisition  of  character,  and  so  a  blessing  that 
ought  to  be  disseminated  throughout  the  universe,  for 
the  spreading  of  which  angels  ought  to  be  sent  out  as 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  19 

missionaries  of  sin  to  all  worlds  for  the  purpose  of  inspi- 
ring and  arousing  rebellion  against  God.  Sin  never  re- 
ceives such  treatment  anywhere  in  the  Book  of  God.  It 
is  here  exhibited  in  its  horrid  deformity.  It  stands  on 
the  earth  a  monster  with  its  haughty  head  among  the 
eternities.  Beneath  its  feet  is  the  dying  race,  in  its 
bloody  hands  is  the  dying  Christ,  and  in  its  aching  heart 
is  the  undying  worm.  It  has  broken  into  the  universe 
and  carries  woe  wherever  it  goes.  It  desolates  every 
world  it  touches  with  sword  and  fagot.  It  runs  up  the 
black  flag  of  treason  against  God's  government.  It  tor- 
tures and  torments  his  children.  It  threatens  the  safety 
of  his  court.  With  sin  loose  anywhere  in  the  universe 
there  is  no  peace  for  his  palace,  no  security  for  his  king- 
dom, no  comfort  for  his  children,  and  no  allegiance  for 
his  subjects.  Sin  is  the  one  enemy  of  God's  government 
whose  capture  and  destruction  tax  the  energies  of  his 
empire.  It  is  the  one  thing  that  God  hates.  The  shore- 
less ocean  of  his  being  flows  like  an  everlasting  tide  of 
fire  and  wrath  against  sin.  He  seeks  by  all  possible 
means  to  corral  and  capture  it.  But  in  its  treatment  he 
is  estopped  from  every  policy  of  approval,  compromise, 
or  allegiance,  by  his  own  eternal  righteousness,  which 
cannot  look  upon  sin  with  the  least  degree  of  approval  ; 
estopped  from  the  use  of  his  omnipotence  by  the  very 
conditions  of  his  moral  government ;  estopped  from  in- 
termitting his  remedial  efforts  by  the  infinite  love  that 
set  him  on  the  work  of  creating.  In  all  the  agony  of 
his  soul,  which  extorted  from  his  bosom  his  only-begot- 
ton  Son,  he  has  never  found  out  any  other  way  of  cor^ 

23 


20  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

reeling  and  euring  sin  than  by  the  chastenings  of  the 
law  to  reveal  the  fact  of  lostness  and  awaken  the  sense  of 
want  ;  and  then  by  the  magnetism  of  the  cross  to  draw 
men  up  to  himself.  Surely  in  the  presence  of  these  facts 
there  is  infinite  value  in  the  blood  of  reconciliation,  even 
the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  in  his  prevailing  advocacy  of  every 
case  that  commits  itself  to  his  care.  God  offers  but  one 
escape  from  sin,  and  that  is  set  forth  in  this  Epistle  as 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus.  We  have  in  him  a  sin-offering 
and  an  advocate,  let  us  therefore  come  with  boldness 
and  obtain  mercy. 

The  great  purpose  of  the  Epistle  is  to  warn  the  He- 
brew Christians  of  the  danger  of  apostasy.  Words  of 
exhortation  are  constantly  wedged  into  the  argument  of 
the  Epistle.  Thus,  after  the  brilliant  and  marvellous  pres- 
entation of  the  exalted  character  of  Jesus  made  in  the 
first  chapter  we  are  told,  "  Therefore  we  ought  to  give 
the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have 
heard,  lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  slip"  (2  :  i). 
Again,  we  read,  "Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in 
any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from 
the  living  God"  (3:12).  Every  few  verses  our  author 
breaks  out,  "  Let  us  therefore  fear,  lest,  a  promise  being 
left  us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should  seem 
to  come  short  of  it "  (4 :  i).  And  "  Let  us  labor  there- 
fore to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the 
same  example  of  unbelief  "(4:11).  We  are  exhorted  not 
to  lay  again  the  foundation  of  repentance  from  dead 
works,  on  account  of  the  impossibility  of  renewing  again 
unto  repentance  any  who  may  thus  fall  away  (6:1-10). 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  2 HE  HEBREWS.  21 

The  Epistle  abounds  in  most  fearful  warnings  against 
apostasy,  such  as,  **  If  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have 
received  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no 
more  sacrifice  for  sin,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation  which  shall  devour  the 
adversary"  (10:26,  2^).  It  is  warning  enough  that  in 
this  great  argument  for  fidelity  and  obedience,  1 13  verses 
out  of  416,  a  little  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  entire 
Epistle,  is  given  to  practical  exhortations  in  application 
of  the  truths.  Surely  we  could  hardly  be  more  power- 
fully urged  to  vigilance  and  faithfulness. 

We  cannot  close  this  hurried  and  brief  sketch  of  this 
Epistle  without  returning  to  the  great  thought  of  the 
Book,  the  Priesthood  of  Christ. 

Exactly  what  we  need  on  account  of  our  sin  and  guilt 
we  find  in  Jesus.  Our  littleness  is  supported  by  his 
vastness,  our  want  by  his  fulness  ;  our  guilt  is  met  by  his 
grace,  our  fear  by  his  intercession.  All  we  do  or  can 
need  we  find  in  him.  It  has  pleased  the  Father  that 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  should  dwell  in  Him  bod- 
ily. He  has  entered  into  our  disabilities,  he  took  not  on 
him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the  seed 
of  Abraham ;  wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  him  to  be 
made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
and  faithful  high  priest,  "for  in  that  he  himself  hath 
suffered  being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that 
are  tempted,"  (2  :  16-18). 

We  know  in  this  city  how  even  the  slight  and  shift- 
ing distinctions  of  society  separate  men  from  each  other. 
There  is  a  great  world  of  ignorance  and  crime  that  boils 


22  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

and  surges  under  society  that  we  never  touch.  We  pass 
them  on  the  street,  we  are  offended  at  their  coarseness 
and  crime,  we  cringe  when  we  look  at  their  nakedness 
and  bruises,  we  soon  come  to  think  that  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  their  ills  and  diseases  and  gnawing  hunger  and 
pressing  want.  We  watch  them  picking  coal  out  of  the 
ashes  we  have  cast  out,  and  picking  food  from  the  gar- 
bage-carts, and  we  say  to  ourselves,  **  They  find  consider- 
able comfort  in  finding  a  sohd  piece  of  coal,  or  in  stum- 
bling upon  half  a  biscuit."  It  is  true  they  do.  But  we 
overlook  the  fathomless  sorrow  and  want  that  can  make 
such  refuse  fortune  a  comfort  to  them.  We  do  not  live 
in  the  same  world  with  them.  We  are  in  no  condition 
to  sympathize  with  them.  Even  the  temporary  order  of 
society  so  separates  men  that  their  sympathies  seldom 
touch  each  other. 

Your  neighbor  is  rich,  you  are  poor.  How  widely 
you  are  separated.  He  cannot  find  wants  enough ;  you 
know  not  how  to  want  things.  He  struggles  to  put  the 
most  sixpences  into  a  given  space  ;  you  struggle  to  put 
one  sixpence  into  the  most  places.  He  never  makes  a 
garment  do  half  duty ;  you  always  make  it  do  double 
duty.  He  rides ;  you  walk.  He  has  many  friends ; 
you  toil  on  in  solitude.  He  has  skilful  physicians  ; 
you  suffer  on  without  relief.  There  is  little  or  nothing 
in  common  between  you. 

All  these  distinctions  and  disabilities  Jesus  sees,  and 
avoids,  and  enters  into  our  actual  condition,  and  by  his 
poverty  puts  his  strong  soul  up  against  our  little  souls 
and  throbs  into  us  some  of  his  own  almightiness,     ''  For 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  25 

we  have  not  a  High  priest  which  cannot  be  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin"  (4 :  15). 

Our  High  priest  comes  to  us  under  double  types  and 
with  a  double  nature.  He  comes  to  us  through  the 
Aaronic  priesthood  as  a  man,  "who  can  have  compas- 
sion on  the  ignorant  and  on  them  that  are  out  of  the 
way,  for  that  He  himself  also  is  compassed  with  infirmi- 
ty" (5:2).  He  is  typified  unto  us  through  the  priest- 
hood of  Melchizedec  as  an  Eternal  Prince.  "Thou  art  a 
priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedec."  Thus  he 
is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  them  that  come  unto  God 
by  him.     All  gentleness  and  all  power. 

It  is  not  possible  to  fathom  the  infinite  mystery  of 
the  suffering  of  Jesus.  We  can  tell  as  little  about  it 
as  we  can  about  any  suffering.  There  is  a  ministry  of 
pain  that  seems  to  have  an  exalted  place  in  the  divine 
economy.  Characters  are  led  out  of  selfishness  up  into 
sainthood  by  the  burning  hands  of  pain.  Mortals, 
crushed  by  great  sorrows,  discover  their  rarest  fragrance. 
It  seems  quite  safe  to  affirm  that  suffering  is  the  only  path 
up  to  perfection.  Every  soul  on  the  soil  of  probation, 
whether  it  be  the  soul  of  a  mortal  or  the  soul  of  a  Re- 
deemer, can  pass  up  to  perfection  only  by  this  weary  way 
of  suffering,  "  For  it  became  Him,  for  whom  are  all 
things  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many 
sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the  Captain  of  their  salvation 
perfect  through  sufferings.  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth 
and  they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one"  (2 :  10,  11). 

The  mystery  of  the  suffering  by  which  Jesus  was 

23* 


2  4  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

perfected  for  his  office  is  hardly  open  to  human  specula- 
tion. We  can  only  behold  and  adore.  I  have  sometimes 
fancied  that  this  suffering  was  the  only  way  in  which  it  is 
possible  to  demonstrate  love.  This  proves  to  us  the 
love  of  Jesus.  In  his  broken-hearted  sobs  that  went 
out  from  Calvary  there  went  an  argument  for  God's  love 
for  man  than  can  never  be  excelled  or  doubted.  I  have 
also  thought  as  I  have  gazed  upon  some  helpless  inno- 
cent babe  writhing  in  the  death  agony,  that  possibly  this 
suffering,  so  dark  to  the  loving  parent  here,  might  over 
yonder  furnish  the  alphabet  with  which  in  the  eternal 
ages  to  spell  out  the  boundless  love  and  meaning  of  Cal- 
vary. This  much  we  do  know  that  God  perfects  his 
Son  by  suffering.  Though  he  were  a  Son,  yet  learned 
he  obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suffered.  "And 
the  servant  is  not  above  his  Master,  nor  the  disciple 
above  his  Lord." 

It  is  enough  for  us  to  approach  the  suffering  Jesus 
without  seeking  to  fathom  its  mystery.  Enough  that  he 
is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto 
God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  them.  For  such  a  High  priest  became  us  who  is 
holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  sinners,  and 
made  higher  than  the  heavens  (7 :  25,  26).  Enough 
that  he  has  entered  within  the  veil  with  his  glorified 
humanity,  and  standing  there  in  the  presence  of  the 
Father  presents  us  in  his  person.  Enough  that,  as  our 
advocate  and  representative,  he  presents  our  atonement 
and  hears  our  prayers,  which  we  know  not  how  to  offer 
as  we  ought,  but  which  Jesus  vitalizes  with  his  blood 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.  25 

and  presents  unto  the  Father  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
them  prevail. 

"  Erect  at  the  outtermost  gates 
Of  the  city  celestial  He  waits, 

With  his  feet  on  the  ladder  of  light, 
That  crowded  with  angels  unnumbered, 
By  Jacob  was  seen  as  he  slumbered 

Alone  in  the  desert  at  night. 

"  The  angels  of  Wind  and  of  Fire 
Chant  only  one  hymn  and  expire. 

With  the  song's  irresistible  stress — 
Expire  in  their  rapture  and  wonder, 
As  harpstrings  are  broken  asunder 

By  music  they  throb  to  express. 

"  But  serene  in  the  rapturous  throng, 
Unmoved  by  the  rush  of  the  song, 

With  eyes  unimpassioned  and  slow, 
Among  the  dead  angels,  but  deathless. 
The  Saviour  stands  listening  breathless, 

To  sounds  that  ascend  from  below; 

"  From  spirits  on  earth  that  adore, 
From  the  souls  that  entreat  and  implore 

In  the  fervor  and  passion  of  prayer; 
From  the  hearts  that  are  broken  with  losses 
And  weary  with  dragging  the  crosses 

Too  heavy  for  mortals  to  bear. 

"And  He  gathers  the  prayers  as  He  stands, 
And  they  change  into  flowers  in  his  hands, 

Into  garlands  of  purple  and  red, 
And  beneath  the  great  arch  of  the  portal, 
Through  the  streets  of  the  city  immortal, 

Is  wafted  the  fragrance  they  shed." 


THE 


Epistles  of  Peter 


£V  REV.  HERRICK  JOHNSON,  D.  D,, 

AUBURN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


THE 


EPISTLES   OF   PETER. 


We  must  know  Peter,  if  we  would  know  his  two 
Epistles.  The  record  of  his  life  is  brief.  Let  us  look  at 
it  as  we  find  it  before  the  ascension,  and  after  it. 

PETER  BEFORE  THE  ASCENSION. 
Simon  and  his  brother  Andrew  were  two  plain  fish- 
ermen, who  plied  their  calling  on  the  Galilean  sea. 
They  were  born  at  Bethsaida  (John  i  :  44),  on  its  western 
coast.  They  afterwards  removed  to  Capernaum,  where 
Peter  lived  with  a  wife,  and  in  his  own  house.  (Luke 
4 :  38.)  Andrew  became  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist, 
But  when  John  pointed  to  Jesus,  and  said,  "  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God,"  Andrew  left  the  Baptist  and  followed 
Jesus.  Soon  afterward,  he  sought  his  brother  Simon, 
and  said  to  him,  "  We  have  found  the  Messias ;"  and  he 
brought  him  to  Jesus.  (John  i  :4i,  42.)  At  this  first 
interview  with  Jesus,  Simon  received  his  new  name, 
Cephas  (Aramaean),  or  Peter  (Greek),  i.  e.,  a  rock,  a  stone, 
prophetic  of  what  grace  would  make  of  his  ardent  and 
energetic  nature.  Subsequently  to  this  interview,  the 
brothers  still  pursued  their  occupation  as  fishermen,  not 


4  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

permanently  attaching  themselves  to  Jesus  until  called 
to  be  his  apostles.  Then  they  "left  all,"  and  followed 
him.  (Matt.  4  :  18-22  ;  Mark  i :  16-20  ;  Luke  5  :  i-i  i.) 
After  the  twelve  apostles  were  chosen  and  ordained 
(Mark  3  :  14-19),  Peter  took  foremost  place  among  them 
in  speech  and  action.  He  is  named  first  in  each  of  the 
four  catalogues  of  the  Apostolic  College.  (Matt.  10:2; 
Mark  3:16;  Luke  6  :  14 ;  Acts  1:13.)  He  was  oftenest 
the  spokesman  of  the  twelve.  He  was  frequently  ad- 
dressed as  their  representative.  He,  with  James  and 
John,  was  admitted  to  special  intimacies  with  his  Lord, 
as  at  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus  (Mark  5  : 1'j), 
at  the  transfiguration  (Matt.  17  :  i),  at  the  hour  of  Christ's 
agony  in  Gethsemane  (Matt.  26  :  37).  It  was  Peter  who 
saw  the  miraculous  draught  of  fishes,  and  straightway 
"  fell  down  "  at  Jesus'  knees,  saying,  "  Depart  from  me,  for 
I  am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord."  (Luke  5  : 8.)  It  was  Peter 
who  walked  on  the  water  to  Jesus.  It  was  Peter  who,  in 
answer  to  the  Master's  question  to  the  twelve,  "  Will  ye 
also  go  away .?"  replied,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  t 
thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life.  We  believe  and  are 
sure  that  thou  art  the  Holy  One  of  God."  (John  6  : 6%y 
69,  Sinaitic  and  Vatican  MSS.)  And  it  was  Peter  again 
who  answered  Christ's  question,  '*Whom  say  ye  that  I 
am  V  by  the  glorious  confession,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God."  (Matt.  16:16.)  For  this  the 
Master  said,  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona ;  for 
flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee, 
that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 


--y 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  5 

church  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
it."  Yet  this  same  Peter  had  the  high  presumption  to 
take  his  Master  aside  and  rebuke  him  for  predicting  his 
sufferings  and  death,  calling  forth  from  Jesus,  in  stern 
censure  of  his  presumptuous  interference,  "  Get  thee  be- 
hind me,  Satan :  thou  art  an  offence  unto  me."  (Matt. 
16 :  22,  23.)  It  was  to  Peter,  sinking  in  the  sea,  that 
Christ  said,  "O  thou  of  little  faith."  And  to  Peter, 
sleeping  in  the  hour  of  his  Master's  agony,  that  the  Mas- 
ter said,  "Simon,  sleepest  thouf  (Mark  14:37.)  Pe- 
ter would  die  with  his  Master  before  he  would  deny  Him, 
yet  in  less  than  a  day  he  is  denying  Him  with  oaths  and 
blasphemy.  And  yet  again,  one  look  from  his  grieved  Lord 
breaks  this  apostle's  heart,  and  he  stands  without  the 
palace,  leaning  against  the  wall,  his  great  frame  shaken 
with  weeping.  He  who  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed, 
by  the  same  sea  where  Peter  was  first  called  to  his  apos- 
tleship,  affixes  the  seal  anew  to  his  heavenly  commission, 
and  reinstates  Peter  in  his  apostolic  office  by  the  thrice- 
repeated  question,  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou 
me  ?"  and  the  thrice-repeated  charge  to  feed  the  flock ; 
and  thus  the  record  of  Peter's  life  before  the  ascension  is 
ended. 

"  The  weakness  and  the  strength  of  our  human  love 
for  Christ,"  says  Alford,  "  are  both  mercifully  provided 
for  in  this  apostle's  character."  "  He  is  very  remarkable 
among  the  apostles,"  says  Leighton,  "  both  for  his  graces 
and  his  failings  " — "  a  singular  instance  of  human  frailty 
on  the  one  side  and  of  the  sweetness  of  divine  grace  on 
the  other."    Certainly  no  other  apostle  in  the  gospel  nar- 

29 


6  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

rative  so  fixes  upon  himself  the  eye  and  the  thought  of 
the  reader.  He  is  oftenest  at  the  front  in  speech  and 
deed.  He  is  a  bundle  of  seeming  contradictions.  He 
gets  from  his  Lord  on  the  very  same  day  most  royal 
commendation  and  most  severe  reproof.  We  hear  him 
saying,  "Thou  shalt  never  wash  my  feet ;"  and  the  words 
scarcely  die  on  the  air  before  they  are  followed  by,  "  Lord, 
not  my  feet  only,  but  also  my  hands  and  my  head."  All 
readers  find  themselves  drawn  to  this  eager,  impulsive, 
generous,  energetic  soul.  The  strange  inconsistencies, 
the  contradictory  moods,  the  heights  and  depths,  the 
unquestionable  strength,  and  the  as  unquestionable  weak- 
ness of  this  apostle's  heart,  are  the  counterpart  and  par- 
tial explanation  of  what  is  true  of  multitudes  of  other 
hearts.  And  when  he  reappears  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, he  is  followed  with  a  strange,  intense  interest.  We 
are  justifiably  cujious  to  know  what  is  to  be  made  of  this 
intensely  human  disciple  under  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit.  We  naturally  ask  whether  this  fiery  temperament, 
finding  expression  in  such  rash  speech,  this  generous, 
impulsive  outspokenness  taking  on  at  times  almost  the 
tone  of  bold  bravado,  this  eager  earnestness  swinging  so 
often  back  to  wayward  weakness,  as  if  here  were  the  very 
child  of  vacillation — whether  these  are  to  get  pruning 
and  stay  and  blended  proportion,  and  to  be  purified  and 
glorified  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

PETER  AFTER  THE  ASCENSION. 
Well,  the  record  of  apostolic  doing  after  the  ascension 
tells  us.     There  we  find,  at  the  very  first  anointing  from 
heaven,  the  impetuous  ardor  still,  but  backed  now  by 


THE  EPISTLES  OE  PETER.  7 

granitelike  firmness  ;  the  old  bold,  outspokenness  still,  but 
sustained  now  by  a  courage  that  fears  nothing  but  God. 
Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  has  indeed  become  Cephas — a  rock. 
He  who  cowered  before  a  barmaid,  faces  the  murderers 
of  his  Lord,  and  charges  their  guilt  home.  And  not  even 
Paul,  a  man  of  far  greater  genius  and  culture — not  even 
He  who  spake  as  never  man  spake,  ever  used  so  effective 
speech.  Never  in  all  human  history  were  multitudes 
wielded  after  such  a  fashion  as  the  two  crowds  that  gath- 
ered before  Peter,  the  one  in  an  open  square  near  the 
temple,  on  hearing  the  sound  as  of  a  rushing  mighty 
wind,  and  the  other  in  Solomon's  Porch,  on  hearing  of 
the  healing  of  the  lame  man  at  the  gate  Beautiful. 

Besides  these  two  recorded  occasions  of  public  and 
courageous  speech  in  behalf  of  Christ  as  the  Messiah,  we 
find  Peter  twice  before  the  Jewish  court  (Acts  4:  5-13  ; 
5  :  27-32),  displaying  there  also  the  courage  of  his  con- 
victions and  fidelity  to  his  Lord.  He  next  appears  in  the 
record  as  sent  by  the  apostles  into  Samaria.  (Acts  8  :  14.) 
Subsequently  he  travels  through  Judea,  performing  mir- 
acles and  preaching  Jesus  at  Lydda  and  Joppa  (Acts 
9 :  32-43),  and  is  directed  by  God  in  vision  to  open  the 
door  of  the  church  to  the  Gentile  Cornelius.  (Acts  10.) 
He  next  vindicates  before  the  brethren  at  Jerusalem  this 
reception  of  an  uncircumcised  heathen.  Soon  after, 
being  imprisoned  by  Herod,  he  is  miraculously  delivered, 
and  leaves  the  city.  (Acts  12:17.)  Later,  he  is  again 
at  Jerusalem,  in  the  council  of  apostles  and  elders,  called 
to  consider  the  question  raised  at  Antioch  with  reference 
to  circumcision.     His  voice  is  pronounced  in  favor  oi 


8  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

liberty,  and  against  putting  a  yoke  on  the  neck  of  Gentile 
disciples.  (Acts  15.)  At  this  point  Peter  drops  en- 
tirely out  of  view  in  the  sacred  history.  He  does  not 
have  even  another  mention  in  the  record  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  Paul  in  one  of  his  letters  (Gal.  i  :  11)  re- 
fers to  him  as  being  subsequently  at  Antioch,  where  he 
refused  to  eat  with  Gentile  Christians.  Peter  here  was 
guilty  of  undeniable  dissimulation.     He  knew  better.    It 

/i^tf  '  ^'^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  speech  at  Jerusalem,  and  a 
triumph  of  his  old  vacillating,  cowardly  nature ;  for  the 

„,c 'v  /,,i  record  is,  he  was  in  fear  of  "  them  which  were  of  the  cir- 
cumcision," so  that  Paul  "withstood  him  to  the  face,  be- 
cause he  was  to  be  blamed." 

This  is  the  last  item  of  Peter's  life  on  the  pages  of  the 
New  Testament,  until  we  come  to  the  two  Epistles  that 
bear  his  name.  Was  Peter  their  author  ?  Our  review 
of  his  life  should  help  us  to  an  answer  to  this  question. 

WAS  THIS  PETER   THE  AUTHOR   OF  THE  EPISTLES 
THAT  BEAR  HIS  NAME? 

Look,  first,  at  the  probabilities.  Wishes  are  not  argu- 
ments, I  know.  Likelihoods  are  not  demonstrations. 
But  the  weight  of  probability  arising  from  Peter's  posi- 
tion and  character  in  favor  of  Petrine  authorship  is  some- 
thing very  considerable,  and  decisive  of  the  question 
^  except  in  the  face  of  direct  proof  to  the  contrary. 

Take,  first,  Peter's  pre-eminence  among  the  apostles, 
both  before  and  after  Christ's  death.  It  was  personal, 
and  not,  as  the  Romish  church  claims,  official.  It  was  a 
primacy  of  order,  not  oi pozvcr.     But  it  was  a  real  leader- 


THE  EPISTLES  OE  PETER.  9 

ship,  and  because  of  his  energy  and  enthusiasm  and  im- 
pulsive ardor  and  promptness  and  decision.  It  was 
recognized  by  Christ.  The  only  apostles  who  approach- 
ed him  in  personal  power  and  favor  with  the  Master 
were  James  and  John  and  Paul.  James  fell  so  soon  a 
martyr  that  he  could  leave  the  church  little  save  the  tes- 
timony and  seal  of  his  blood.  But  John's  legacy  to  the 
church  is  a  Gospel,  three  Epistles,  and  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion. Paul  crowds  the  inspired  record  with  his  splendid 
and  weighty  Epistles.  Now  is  it  at  all  probable  that 
Peter,  the  greatest  of  the  twelve,  singled  out  by  his  Mas- 
ter, and  charged  with  special  and  royal  commissions,  of 
whom  the  gospel  narrative  warrants  us  to  expect  so  much, 
should  so  early  and  so  utterly  drop  out  of  sight,  with  no 
bequest  to  the  church  whatever  from  his  inspiration, 
save  the  three  or  four  speeches  of  his  to  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  recorded  in  the  Acts }  Would  it  not  be  a  marvel- 
lously strange  thing  if  he  were  left  in  this  silence  }  And 
is  not  the  presence  of  his  Epistles  in  the  Canon  justified 
by  a  very  natural  and  very  confident  expectation  t 

Take  again  the  way  ift  which  the  record  of  his  life 
closes.  The  very  last  item  is  Paul's  account  of  Peter's 
recreancy  to  his  own  convictions  at  Antioch.  He  plays 
the  coward  there.  His  old  waywardness  gets  the  better 
of  him,  and  many — Barnabas  among  them — are  carried 
away  with  his  dissimulation.  Now  is  Peter's  record  on 
the  page  of  inspiration  to  end  in  such  a  cloud  as  this } 
The  rocklike  firmness  that  he  has  shown  since  his  Mas- 
ter's ascension  seems  to  be  gone.  Satan  is  sifting  him 
again.     Is   Satan   to   have   him  ?    Where   is    the  proof 

29* 


lo  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

that  this  wayward  apostle  continued  faithful  ?  How  do 
we  knoiv  that  Peter  grew  to  be  perfectly  representative  of 
his  Christ-given  name,  if  we  do  not  know  anything  more 
of  him  after  this  weakness  and  cowardice  at  Antioch  ? 
If  these  epistles  are  the  Epistles  of  Peter,  the  case  is 
clear. 

Once  more  :  take  the  solemn  words  of  Christ,  just  after 
the  Last  Supper,  "  Simon,  Simon,  Satan  hath  desired  to 
have  you  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  I  have  prayed 
for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not.  And  zvhen  thou  art  con- 
verted strengthen  the  brethrenr  Where  is  the  proof  that 
Peter  gave  heed  to'  this  solemn  and  peculiar  charge  .^ 
Not  in  his  sermons  to  the  Jews,  nor  in  his  addresses  before 
the  Sanhedrim,  scarcely  at  all  in  the  entire  record  of  his 
life  in  the  Acts.  But  these  two  Epistles  are  all  aglow  with 
the  spirit  of  consolation,  and  are  by  eminence  the  stay 
and  comfort  and  strength  of  believers.  There  is  nothing 
left  us  to  prove  that  Peter  felt  it  to  be  peculiarly  his  of- 
fice to  "  strengthen  the  brethren "  and  thus  obey  his 
Lord,  if  these  Epistles  are  not  his.  In  the  absence  of 
direct  proof,  therefore,  the  probabilities  are  strong  in 
favor  of  these  Epistles  as  the  genuine  work  of  the  apostle 
Peter. 

Let  us  next  consider  the  external  evidence.  It  is 
unquestionably  conclusive  with  reference  to  the  first 
Epistle.  It  was  unanimously  received  by  the  primi- 
tive church.  It  is  found  in  the  ancient  Syriac  version  of 
the  New  Testament,  called  the  Peschito,  a  product  at 
the  latest,  of  the  second  century,  and  a  translation  from 
the  Greek  into  the  very  language  spoken  by  many  of  the 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER,  n 

primitive  churches.  It  is  quoted  repeatedly  by  the  Fa- 
thers from  Polycarp  of  the  first  century  onward.  Express 
testimony  in  favor  of  its  genuineness  is  found  in  writers 
of  the  second  and  third  centuries.  With  scarcely  even 
an  insignificant  exception  the  testimony  of  antiquity  is 
one  way.  Indeed  Olshausen  affirms  that  "Among  all 
the  writers  of  Christian  antiquity  there  is  not  one  who 
doubted  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle,  or  had  even 
heard  of  any  doubts  concerning  it." 

The  external  testimony  to  the  second^  Epistle  is 
by  no  means  so  abundant.  Not  until  the  fourth  century 
is  it  recognized  without  dispute  as  belonging  to  the  sa- 
cred canon.  There  it  appears  in  all  the  catalogues  of 
the  Fathers  and  church  councils.  In  the  third  century 
its  genuineness  was  doubted.  There  are  certain  referen- 
ces to  it  as  in  existence  in  the  second  century,  but  noth- 
ing whatever  of  a  positive  nature  as  to  its  canonical 
character.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  historical  evi- 
dence for  Second  Peter's  place  in  the  inspired  books  of 
the  New  Testament  is  not  as  full  and  satisfactory  as 
could  be  wished.  While,  however,  the  authority  is  not 
proved  by  external  evidence,  it  is  not  disproved. 

The  silence  of  the  earliest  Fathers  may  be  accounted 
for  in  that  only  the  merest  fragments  of  their  writings  have 
been  handed  down  to  us,  and  thus  it  might  easily  come 
to  pass  that  in  these  fragments  no  citation  would  appear 
from  so  short  a  book  as  Second  Peter. 

Moreover  it  was  written  just  before  Peter's  death 
(2  Pet.  I  :  14),  and  so  his  continued  living  presence  could 
not  give  the  same  authority  to  this  as  to  the  first  Epistle. 


12  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

It  was  not  specifically  addressed,  and  so  came  under  the 
guardianship  of  no  particular  church.  It  was  received 
in  a  time  of  persecution.  Mutual  communications  were 
interrupted  and  difficult.  This,  combined  with  the  great 
hesitancy  with  which  the  churches  of  one  section  accept- 
ed from  the  churches  of  another  section  any  new  wri- 
ting as  canonical,  would  account  for  the  original  obscuri- 
ty of  Second  Peter,  and  for  its  gradual  admission  into  the 
catalogues  of  sacred  books  until  its  final,  definitive  and 
universal  acceptance  as  inspired  and  genuine. 

The  hiternal  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  these 
Epistles  demands  brief  consideration. 

As  to  the  first  Epistle,  there  has  been  little  question 
worth  the  mentioning.  An  examination  of  particular 
words  and  phrases  is  here  out  of  the  question.  But  the 
tone  and  feeling  of  the  Epistle  are  strikingly  characteris- 
tic of  Peter.  The  diction  is  similar  to  that  of  the  speech- 
es at  Pentecost  and  in  Solomon's  Porch.  There  is  a 
ruggedness  of  language  that  befits  the  rocklike  man. 
The  style  is  marked  by  force  and  fire  rather  than  ease  and 
elegance.  Yet  the  force  and  fire  are  so  far  chastened  and 
subdued,  that  all  the  old  brusqueness  and  self-assertion 
of  this  apostle's  nature  are  gone.  The  warnings  and  con- 
solations are  given  by  one  whose  fiery  temperament  has 
known  the  fellowship  of  his  Lord's  sufferings,  and  real- 
ized the  sufficiency  and  the  joy  of  his  upholding  grace. 
Surely  it  is  Peter,  in  memory  of  his  boastful  confidence, 
who  says,  "  Be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every 
man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you, 
with  meekness  and  fear''     Surely,  it  is  Peter,  with  his 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  13 

Lord's  forgiving  love  still  fresh  in  his  heart,  who  says, 
"  Charity  shall  cover  the  multitude  of  sins."  And  surely 
it  is  Peter  in  vivid  remembrance  of  his  own  terrible  sift- 
ing by  Satan,  who  says,  "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant ;  because 
your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  VViesinger  is  unques- 
tionably right  in  saying,  as  quoted  by  Alford,  "  If  we  had 
not  known  from  whom  the  Epistle  comes,  we  must  have 
said,  'It  must  be  a  rock  of  the  church  who  thus  writes  ; 
a  man  whose  own  soul  rests  on  the  living  Rock,  and 
who  here  with  the  strength  of  his  testimony  takes  in 
hand  to  secure  the  souls  of  others,  and  against  the  haras- 
sing storm  of  present  tribulation  to  ground  them  on  the 
true  Rock  of  ages.' " 

The  internal  evidence  concerning  the  second  Epistle 
has  been  held  by  some  to  be  against  its  genuineness. 
A  full  and  minute  discussion  of  the  points  is  here  impos- 
sible. 

The  chief  objections  are 

1.  The  diversity  of  style  in  the  two  Epistles.  But 
this  is  not  so  marked  as  not  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
diversity  of  condition  in  the  persons  addressed,  by  the 
different  mood  of  the  writer,  and  by  the  difference  of 
time  in  which  he  wrote. 

2.  In  ch.  1:18,  the  Mountain  of  Ti'ansfiguration  is 
called  "  the  Holy  Monntl'  betrayijig,  it  is  held,  a  later  age 
than  the  apostles,  as  no  such  title  is  given  it  by  a7ty  evan- 
gelist. But  what  more  natural  than  that  Peter,  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  the  ineffable  glory  of  that  moun- 
tain vision,  should  speak  of  the  place  as  the  Holy  Mount. 


14  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

3.  All  of  PaiiVs  writings  are  referred  to  and  classed 
with  " the  other  Scriptures ,'  or  sacred  writings  (ch.  3:16), 
as  if  a  full  collection  of  Paul's  Epistles  were  already 
made,  and  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament  already- 
settled.  But  these  words  may  clearly  refer  only  to  such 
of  Paul's  writings  as  Peter  knew,  and  they  imply  no 
more  than  that  "there  were  certain  writings  by  Chris- 
tian teachers  which  were  reckoned  as  on  a  level  with 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  called  by  the  same 
name."* 

The  chief  internal  evidence  in  favor  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  Second  Epistle  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows : 

I., It  is  worthy  of  an  apostle.  It  is  authoritative  in 
language.  It  is  conformed  to  the  analogy  of  faith. 
There  is  in  it  not  only  no  error  of  fact  or  of  doctrine, 
but  sublime  instructions,  novel  and  significant,  in  escha- 
tology ;  and  all  its  counsels  and  warnings  have  been 
eminently  conducive  to  truth  and  godliness. 

2.  It  is  superior  every  way  to  the  writings  of  the 
age  subsequent  to  the  apostles.  In  power,  vivacity,  in- 
tensity and  wealth  of  thought,  it  is  immeasurably  in 
advance  of  anything  that  succeeded  it  in  post-apostolic 
times.  It  is  separated  from  the  earliest  and  best  of  all 
other  writings  of  the  second  century  by  a  difference  so 
marked  as  to  be  recognized  but  utterly  unaccounted  for 
by  the  opponents  of  its  authenticity. 

3.  If  Peter  did  not  write  this  Second  Epistle,  it  is  a  bold, 
shameless,  deliberate  forgery:  for  the  writer  affirms  in  the 
first  verse  that  he  is  "  Simon  Peter,  a  servant  and  an  apos- 

*  Alford. 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  15 

tie  of  Jesus  Christ."  He  further  claims  to  have  been  with 
Christ  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  (ch.  i  :  17,  18), 
and  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  First  Epistle,  which 
bears  Peter's  name.  But  this  compels  the  most  un- 
natural conclusions — conclusions  impossible  of  rational 
belief. 

Here  is  a  writer  who  impresses  all  readers  with  his 
moral  earnestness,  who  passionately  loves  truth,  and 
seeks  above  all  things  to  establish  his  readers  in  the 
truth  (ch.  1:12),  who  claims  personal  revelations  from 
Jesus  Christ  (ver.  14),  who  warns  against  false  teachers 
coming  with  "feigned  words,"  and  declares  that  "their 
damnation  slumbereth  not"  (ch.  2:1-3),  who  urges  his 
hearers,  as  himself  about  to  die  (ch.  1:14),  to  be  found 
without  spot  and  blameless  in  the  coming  of  the  day  of 
God  (ch.  13  :  12-14)  ;  ^^^d  yet  he  is  a  hypocrite,  clothed 
with  fraud,  guilty  even  of  blasphemy  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  claiming  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  First 
Epistle  of  Peter !  Well  has  it  been  said,  "  If  Peter  is 
really  the  author  of  this  Epistle,  everything  is  in  glorious 
harmony :  if  he  is  not,  we  have  before  us  an  insoluble 
psychological  riddle."  Even  the  German  Bleek,  who  denies 
that  this  Epistle  is  the  work  of  Peter,  and  who  admits 
the  author's  adoption  of  "  disguise  "  and  "  counterfeit," 
is  yet  forced,  in  senseless  and  suicidal  contradiction,  to 
avow  that  "the  Epistle  itself  throughout  teaches  us  to 
regard  the  writer  as  a  man  of  earnest  moral  sense — a 
man  whose  spirit  and  principles  were  thoroughly  in 
accord  with  those  of  the  apostolic  writings,  and  presented 
nothing  unchristian  or  heretical."     Is  it  possible  for  this 


i6  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER, 

to  be  true  ?  An  odious  impostor,  coining  falsehood  on 
falsehood,  blasphemously  assuming  to  speak  as  he  is 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  yet  "  a  man  of  earnest  moral 
sense,"  whose  "spirit"  presented  "nothing  unchristian!" 
Surely  this  is  a  moral  impossibility.  Can  horses  run  on 
the  rocks  ?  Shall  one  plough  there  with  oxen  ?  Has 
Christ  such  concord  with  Belial  ? 

TO  WHOM  WERE  THE  EPISTLES  ADDRESSED? 

The  first  Epistle  opens  with  a  salutation  "to  the 
strangers  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappa- 
docia,.Asia,  and  Bithynia."  That  the  Second  Epistle  was 
sent  to  essentially  the  same  readers  is  clear  from  i  Pet. 
3  : 1,  where  the  author  says,  "  This  second  Epistle,  be- 
loved, I  now  write  unto  you." 

The  provinces  named  in  1st  Peter  were  all  of  Asia 
Minor.  At  the  northwest  was  Pontus,  dwellers  in  which 
were  at  Jerusalem  when  Peter  preached  his  Pentecostal 
sermon.  (Acts  2 : 9.)  Pontus  was  the  native  home  of 
Aquila.  Galatia  was  next  westward,  visited  by  Paul  in 
his  second  and  third  missionary  journeys.  (Acts  16:6; 
18:23.)  Cappadocia  was  south  of  Pontus  and  Galatia, 
also  represented  in  Peter's  great  audience  at  Pentecost. 
(Acts  2  : 9.)  Asia  was  still  westward,  embracing  several 
minor  provinces,  as  Phrygia,  Mysia,  Pisidia,  etc.,  the 
scenes  of  Paul's  abundant  labors  in  places  like  Antioch, 
Iconium,  Lystra,  Derbe,  Ephesus,  Troas:  containing 
also  the  cities  of  Philadelphia  and  Sardis  and  Pergamos 
and  Colosse  and  Smyrna  and  Thyatira.  The  last  prov- 
ince named  in   Peter's  salutation,  was  BitJiyniay  lying 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  17 

north  of  Asia,  and  into  which  Paul  assayed  to  go  on  his 
second  missionary  journey,  but  the  Spirit  suffered  him 
not.     (Acts  16:7.) 

But  who  were  "the  strangers,"  scattered  throughout 
these  provinces,  to  whom  Peter  sent  his  letter?  His 
words  of  salutation  literally  are,  "  To  the  elect  strangers 
or  sojourners  of  the  dispersion  of  Pontus,"  etc.  Dispersion 
is  beyond  doubt  a  technical  term,  whose  proper  appli- 
cation is  to  the  Jews  dispersed  in  other  countries  than 
their  native  Palestine.  On  this  ground,  and  because 
Peter's  was  the  apostleship  of  the  circumcision,  it  is  held 
by  some  that  Peter  addressed  Jewish  Christians  only. 
But  the  reference  in  ch.  4 :  3  to  their  once  having  walked 
in  "abominable  idolatries"  is  conclusive  as  against  this 
limitation.  This  and  other  passages  (as  1:14;  2:10) 
make  it  clear  that  Peter  had  Gentile  Christians  in  view. 
Moreover  the  Christians  of  these  provinces,,  as  we  learn 
from  the  record  in  the  Acts,  were  composed  mainly  of 
Gentile  converts.  Nor  is  it  at  all  likely  that  Peter  would 
address  one  part  of  the  believers  in  these  provinces  and 
ignore  the  other.  His  ministry  was  not  exclusively  to 
the  Jews  (Acts  10)  any  more  than  was  Paul's  exclusively 
to  the  Gentiles. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  both  Jewish  and 
Gentile  Christians  were  "the  strangers"  of  the  salutation. 
They  were  strangers  in  the  same  sense  as  in  chap.  2:11, 
where  the  very  same  word  is  used  by  the  apostle  when 
he  beseeches  them,  as  strangers  and  pilgrims,  to  abstain 
from  lusts.     Thus  they  were  together  the  people  of  God's 

covenant^  the  Gentiles  being  grafted  by  faith  into  the  fam- 
30 


i8  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

ily  of  Abraham,  a  chosen  generation,  called  out  of  dark- 
ness into  his  marvellous  light. 

These  "  strangers  "  were  not  an  unorganized,  disin- 
tegrated body  of  believers,  broken  up  and  widely  scat- 
tered as  individuals  throughout  these  provinces,  as  one 
might  infer  from  the  salutation.  They  were  formed  into 
churches,  with  regularly-ordained  elders,  as  is  evident 
from  Peter's  charge  to  the  elders  (i  Pet.  5  :  1-5),  and 
from  the  record  of  Paul's  having  ordained  elders  in  every 
church  in  some  of  these  parts  (Acts  14:23). 

These  churches  had  never  enjoyed  the  personal 
labors  of  Peter,  nor  heard  the  gospel  from  his  lips.  He 
makes  no  allusion,  drops  no  hint  in  either  Epistle  imply- 
ing personal  acquaintance.  On  the  contrary,  when  he 
refers  to  those  who  had  preached  the  gospel  unto  them, 
he  seems  designedly  to  exclude  himself,     (i  Pet.  1:12.) 

WHERE  AND  WHEN  WERE  THESE  EPISTLES 
WRITTEN.? 

The  first  Epistle  was  written  at  Babylon,  as  Peter 
sends  to  his  readers  the  salutations  of  the  church  there 
(ch.  5:13).  There  is  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  this  was 
the  renowned  city  of  Babylon  on  the  Euphrates.  There 
were  certainly  Jews  there  at  this  period,  as  profane  his- 
tory tells  us.  And  Peter's  presence  in  that  city  would 
indicate  that  the  apostle  of  the  circumcision  had  been 
eastward  seeking  his  scattered  countrymen,  and  preach- 
ing to  them  the  true  kingdom  of  God. 

The  time  of  writing  the  first  Epistle  was  about  A.  D. 
61.     Several  considerations  determine  this  date. 


6S" 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  19 

There  is  no  proof  in  the  Epistle  that  the  terrible 
persecutions  under  Nero  had  commenced,  and  we  know 
these  dated  from  A.  d.  64.  But  the  Epistle  furnishes 
abundant  evidence  of  the  actual  foreshadowing  of  some 
coming  storm,  as  if  that  Neronian  outbreak  of  bloody 
violence  were  near  at  hand.  Moreover,  the  personal  ref- 
erences to  Sylvanus  and  Marcus,  and  the  evident  traces 
in  the  Epistle  of  Peter's  familiarity  with  Paul's  letters, 
even  those  of  the  first  imprisonment  at  Rome,  point  to 
the  year  63  as  that  in  which  Peter's  first  Epistle  was 
probably  written. 

His  second  Epistle  could  not  have  been  written  much 
later,  not  more  than  four  or  five  years.  The  reference  to 
the  first  Epistle  (ch.  3  :  i),  "This  second  Epistle,  beloved, 
I  now  write  unto  you,  in  which  (two  epistles)  I  stir  up 
your  pure  minds  by  way  of  remembrance,"  shows  that  the 
two  could  not  have  been  very  far  apart.  If  the  tradition 
be  accepted,  and  there  is  nothing  to  balance  the  testi- 
mony of  Christian  antiquity  in  its  favor,  that  Peter  suf- 
fered martyrdom  at  Rome  at  or  near  the  time  of  Paul's 
martyrdom,  then  his  death  occurred  about  a.  d.  6^  or  6%. 
This  second  Epistle  could  not  have  been  written  long 
before,  and  Peter  may  have  written  it  either  while  on  his 
way  to  Rome,  or  just  after  reaching  the  imperial  city. 
But  the  time  and  place  are  alike  conjectural. 

THE  OBJECT  AND    CONTENTS  OF  THESE  EPISTLES. 

The  one  supreme,  comprehensive  object  of  these  Epis- 
tles is  that  which  had  been  made  by  Christ  in  peculiarly 
sacred   circumstances,    Peter's   special   office.     ^'  Simon, 


20  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

Simon,"  said  the  Master  on  the  memorable  night  of  the 
supper  and  the  betrayal  (Luke  22  13 1-34),  "thou  art  to 
know  the  terribleness  of  Satan's  assaults  ;  thy  temptation 
and  trial  and  fall  are  to  be  grievous  and  bitter ;  but  I  have 
prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not.  And  when  thou 
art  tried  in  the  fire  and  dost  come  forth  vi^ith  a  purified, 
self-renouncing,  and  conquering  faith,  strengthen  the  breth- 
ren.'' And  to  "strengthen  the  brethren"  is  the  para- 
mount, all-controlling  aim  of  these  two  precious  portions 
of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that 
the  very  word  {crnpi^tj)  with  which  the  Holy  Ghost  records 
the  charge  to  Peter  is  again  and  again  used  by  the  apos- 
tle in  these  Epistles  to  stay  the  hearts  of  his  readers. 
He  writes,  "  The  God  of  all  grace  stablish  {aTvpi^ei)  you." 
(i  Pet.  5  :  10.)  He  writes  again,  "Though  ye  be  estab- 
lished  (hTTjpiyfiivov^)  in  the  present  truth,  I  will  not  be  neg- 
ligent to  put  you  always  in  remembrance,  so  as  to  estab- 
lish you  the  more."  (2  Pet.  1:12.)  And  still  again,  the 
very  last  word  of  warning  he  ever  gave  them,  his  dying 
appeal,  "  Beware,  beloved,  lest,  being  led  away  by  the 
error  of  the  wicked,  ye  fall  from  your  own  steadfastness'' 
[oTvpiyfiov).  (2  Pet.  3:17.)  This  is  one  of  those  internal 
and  undesigned  evidences  of  the  genuineness  of  these 
Epistles  with  which  so  many  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment abound.  Who  but  Peter,  sifted  of  Satan  because 
'of  his  self-confidence,  thinking  himself  a  rock  when  he 
proved  a  bank  of  sand,  would  thus  thrice  have  used  this 
very  word  } 

But  it  is  not  simply  by  this  word  that  the  object  ap- 
pears.    It  breaks  out  everywhere  in  the  two  letters,  from 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER,  21 

the  opening  reference  to  the  trial  of  the  faith  of  his  read- 
ers that  would  be  found  unto  praise  and  glory  and  honor 
at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  very  last  appeal, 
to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour.  The  Epistles  are  not  doctrinal,  though  doctrine 
is  in  them ;  they  are  full  of  the  strong  meat  of  the  Word, 
the  choice  manna  of  the  Son  of  God.  They  are  not  a 
profound  unfolding  of  a  logical  system  of  divine  truth. 
His  readers  had  been  already  grounded  in  Christian  doc- 
trine by  Paul  and  his  companions.  Peter  therefore  aims 
not  so  much  at  instruction  as  confirmation.  His  Epistles 
are  exJiibitive  rather  than  demonstrative  ;  and  exhibitive 
of  those  grand  and  inspiring  truths  that  have  been  the 
stay  .and  the  joy  of  believers  in  all  circumstances  of  trial. 
They  merit  for  themselves  this  distinctive  title.  The 
Epistles  of  consolation,  and  they  win  for  their  author  this, 
The  Apostle  of  hope. 

But  while  the  one  great  object  of  Peter  is  "to  strength- 
en the  brethren,"  each  Epistle  has  a  distinctive  aim,  by 
reason  of  the  differing  condition  of  his  readers  at  the 
time  of  his  writing. 

When  Peter  wrote  his  first  Epistle,  the  Christians 
scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  etc.,  were  deprived 
of  the  personal  labors  of  Paul.  Paul's  great  missionary 
journeys  in  these  parts  were  ended.  He  had  been  a 
prisoner  at  Cesarea  and  Rome.  Possibly  he  was  now 
liberated  and  on  some  distant  tour  westward.  We  know 
from  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  that  Judaizing  teachers 
were  among  these  churches,  troubling  the  Gentile  Chris- 
tians by  teaching  that  circumcision  was  necessary  to  sal- 


23  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

vation,  and  entangling  them  with  the  yoke  of  bondage  to 
the  flesh.  (Gal.  3:1;  5:1;  6:12.)  Moreover,  they  were 
in  manifold  trials  of  afflictions  by  reason  of  the  heathen. 
The  bloody  persecutions  of  Nero  had  not  yet  actually 
broken  forth.  There  is  no  proof  in  the  Epistle  that  they 
were  haled  before  judges  or  violently  put  to  death.  But 
their  faith  was  sorely  tried,  even  as  "  with  fire ;"  they 
were  "evil  spoken  of,"  "falsely  accused,"  "reproached  for 
the  name  of  Christ,"  "  buffeted  "  for  doing  well,  and  railed 
at  for  not  indulging  in  their  former  "lusts  and  revel- 
lings  and  abominable  idolatries"  (1:7;  2:12;  3:1 6- 18; 
4 :  14).  It  is  clear  also  from  the  Epistle  that  there  were 
intimations  of  far  severer  trials  (4 :  12),  of  a  terrible  judg- 
ment to  come  (4:  17),  as  if  Peter  heard  already  the  roar 
of  the  lion  so  soon  to  go  forth  threatening  to  devour  the 
faithful  (5  : 8). 

See  now  how  he  meets  this  twofold  necessity  of 
strengthening  these  brethren.  To  antidote  the  poison 
of  the  errorists,  he  assures  his  readers  that  the  doctrine 
that  had  been  preached  unto  them  by  Paul  and  his  co- 
laborers  is  the  unchangeable  word  of  the  Lord  that  endu- 
reth  for  ever.  As  the  apostle  of  circumcision  and  the 
chief  of  the  twelve  first  chosen  by  the  Lord,  he  ratifies  the 
preaching  of  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  magnani- 
mously endorses  him  in  the  very  point  in  respect  to  which 
Paul  had  once  withstood  him  to  his  face.  He  comforts 
and  strengthens  the  disturbed  brethren  by  stamping  with 
falsehood  these  Judaizing  teachers,  saying  to  his  readers, 
"  The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever,"  etc.  "  This 
is  the  word  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached  unto  you  " 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  23 

(i  :  25).  And  again,  "  This  is  the  true  grace  of  God  where- 
in ye  stand"  (5  :  12). 

But  the  apostle  looks  beyond  these  Judaizing  troub- 
lers  of  the  churches.  Heresy  is  not  yet  so  rife  among 
his  readers  as  to  constitute  their  chief  trial  and  danger. 
Their  sorest  strait  is  the  perils  they  are  in  from  the  hea- 
then. Suspicions,  calumnies,  reproaches,  are  heaped 
upon  them.  Their  situation  is  critical  and  hazardous. 
Everywhere  they  are  maligned  and  maltreated.  There 
are  signs  of  impending  storm  and  disaster.  The  air  is 
thick  with  evil  omens  to  these  infant  flocks.  And  all  the 
fervor  and  warmth  of  Peter's  nature  are  poured  out  in 
furnishing  these  buffeted  and  storm-tossed  believers  in 
Jesus  a  strong  ground  of  consolation.  The  Epistle, 
therefore,  while  assuring  them,  as  against  the  errorists, 
that  they  stand  in  the  true  grace  of  God,  exhibits  that 
grace  in  its  peculiarly  stimulating  and  inspiring  aspects, 
to  stay  and  cheer  their  hearts  in  their  fiery  trials.  It 
abounds  in  the  most  affectionate  warnings  and  the  most 
soul-comforting  promises.  Especially  is  it  full  of  the 
sufferings,  the  exaltation,  the  power,  and  the  coming  of 
Christ. 

Mark  the  proof  of  this. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Faith  is  given  anchorge  in  the  very  opening  sentence 
of  the  salutation,  "  Chosen  according  to  the  foreknowl- 
edge of  God."     Then  the  apostle  proceeds  : 

"  Ye  are  begotten  to  a  living  hope  of  an  eternal  inher- 
itance, and  kept  by  the  power  of  God.    Herein  ye  greatly 


24  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

rejoice,  even  in  tribulation,  as  it  is  thus  made  sure  that 
the  end  of  your  faith,  though  tried  in  the  fire,  will  be  sal- 
vation, and  salvation  so  great  that  prophets  talked  of  it 
and  angels  desired  to  look  into  it.  Hope^  therefore,  to 
the  end ;  be  obedient  and  holy,  remembering  the  precious 
blood  that  redeemed  you,  and  in  the  fellowship  of  this 
ransom  love  one  another,  as  alike  born  by  the  enduring 

word  of  God. 

CHAPTER  II. 

"  Feed  on  this  same  word  by  which  ye  were  born,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby,  and  be  ye  built  up  on  Christ,  the 
precious  cornerstone,  who  will  be  to  believers  an  honor, 
but  to  unbelievers  ruin. 

"  Be  of  pure  conversation  among  the  heathen,  obedi- 
ent to  authorities,  subject  to  masters,  even  when  suffer- 
ing wrongfully,  for  Christ  so  suffered. 

CHAPTER  III. 
"Wives,  win  your  unbelieving  husbands  by  subjec- 
tion, chaste  conversation,  and  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit.  Husbands,  yield  honor  to  the  wife. 
Be  ye  all  loving,  courteous,  guileless,  and  of  good  con- 
science, so  as  to  shame  and  silence  false  accusers.  See 
to  it,  at  all  events,  that  if  you  suffer,  it  be  for  well-doing, 
as  your  Lord  suffered. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

"  Forasmuch,  then,  as  Christ  suffered,  arm  yourselves 

with  his  mind;  be  of  patient  endurance  and  dead  to  sin, 

for  there  is  to  be  a  judgment  both  of  the  living  and  the 

dead.     Discharge  your  social  duties,  use  your  gifts,  and 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  25 

in  participation  in  sufferings  as  Christians  rejoice,  for  the 
spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you,  and  when 
Christ's  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  will  be  glad  with  ex- 
ceeding joy. 

CHAPTER  V. 

"  Elders,  feed  the  flock,  and  do  not  lord  it  over  God's 
heritage.  Ye  younger,  submit  to  the  elder.  And  all 
of  you  be  clothed  with  humility;  cast  care  on  God, 
who  careth  for  you  ;  resist  the  devil ;  and  the  God  of  all 
grace,  after  that  ye  have  suffered  awhile,  make  you  per- 
fect. Peace  be  with  you  all  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Amen."  And  surely  peace,  like  a  river,  must  have 
flowed  through  the  troubled  souls  of  saints  in  Pontus  and 
Galatia  and  Cappadocia  as  they  went  sounding  the  depths 
of  this  Epistle.  All  its  wealth  of  consolation  was  spe- 
cially fitted  to  strengthen  the  brethren  in  their  sufferings 
and  fiery  trials. 

But  when  Peter  wrote  his  second  Epistle,  destructive 
forms  of  error  were  gravely  threatening  the  churches. 
The  danger  was  from  within  rather  than  from  without, 
and  had  already  grown  formidable.  Just  exactly  what 
these  fatal  heresies  were  it  may  be  impossible  to  desig- 
nate. They  were  doubtless  beginnings  of  what  after- 
wards developed  into  destructive  heretical  systems.  They 
were  the  roots  of  antinomian  gnosticism,  "  the  great  moral 
ferment  of  the  first  fatal  apostasy."  These  errorists  de- 
nied that  Christians  were  under  the  restraints  of  law, 
turned  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God  into  license  and 
lust,  and  crowded  out  the  Lord  Christ,  denying  his  re- 


26  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

demption,  raising  angels  to  the  rank  of  creators,  and  revi- 
ling Satan  only  to  be  led  captive  at  his  Mrill,  and  to  perish 
at  last  and  utterly  in  their  own  corruption. 

See  now  how,  in  his  second  Epistle,  Peter  meets  this 
necessity  of  strengthening  the  brethren. 

CHAPTER  I. 

His  salutation  is,  "  Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  to 
you  through  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord',' 
striking  here  at  the  very  outset  the  keynote  of  the  whole 
Epistle ;  for  heresy  can  only  be  antidoted  and  its  pestilent 
evils  stayed,  and  hearts  made  proof  against  it,  by  a  true 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  Christ. 

Then  the  apostle  proceeds : 

"Ye  are  given  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises, 
that  by  these  ye  may  be  made  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature.  Be  diligent,  therefore,  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
gospel's  rich  cluster  of  Christian  graces,  that  by  fruitful- 
ness  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  ye  may  secure  an  abun- 
bant  entrance  into  his  everlasting  kingdom.  I  put  you 
in  mind  of  these  things,  as  myself  about  to  die.  You 
have  not  been  fed  on  cunningly-devised  fables,  in  what 
you  have  been  taught  of  the  power  and  coming  of  Christ, 
for  we  were  eyewitnesses  of  his  majesty  in  the  holy 
mount,  and  the  prophets  do  testify  of  it  also,  speaking 
by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

CHAPTER  II. 
"But  as  there  were  false  prophets  among  them,  so 
there  will  be  false  teachers  among  you,  bringing  in  dam- 
nable heresies,  and  denying  the  Lord  that  bought  them. 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  27 

With  feigned  words  they  will  make  merchandise  of  your 
souls.  But  their  damnation  slumbereth  not.  For  God, 
who  dealt  with  the  sinning  angels,  and  the  old  world  and 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  will  deal  with  these  adulterous 
walkers  after  the  flesh,  who,  in  their  shameless  apostasy, 
sport  in  their  own  deceivings,  and  speak  great  swelling 
words  of  vanity.  And  when  he  does  deal  with  them, 
their  last  state  will  be  worse  than  the  first,  and  it  had 
been  better  for  them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of 
righteousness. 

CHAPTER  III. 

"This  second  Epistle  I  write  to  remind  and  assure 
you  it  is  the  unchangeable  truth  of  God  which  you  pos- 
sess, spoken  before  by  the  prophets,  and  now  by  your* 
apostles.  Beware,  therefore  of  the  scoffers,  walking  after 
their  own  lusts,  and  flouting  at  the  coming  of  Christ ; 
for  as  the  world  once  perished  with  water,  so  it  shall  per- 
ish with  fire,  and  suddenly  too,  as  a  thief  in  the  night. 
Therefore  be  holy  and  watchful,  looking  for  and  hasting 
unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  which  shall  lead  to 
new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  of  righteousness.  Know- 
ing these  things,  take  heed,  beloved,  lest  ye  also  be  led 
away  with  the  error  of  the  wicked,  but  grow  in  grace  and 
in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
To  him  be  glory  both  now  and  for  ever.     Amen." 

Surely  now,  if  Peter's  first  Epistle  is  specially  adapt- 
ed to  strengthen  the  brethren  in  view  of  trials  from  with- 
out, this  second  Epistle  is  equally  adapted  to  fortify  them 
against  the  seductive  assaults  of  heresy  and  fatal  apostasy 

*  According  to  the  Alexandrian,  Sinaitic,  and  Vatican  MSS. 


28  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

from  within.  The  one  Epistle  is  the  complement  of  the 
other,  and  each  fits  to  the  present  and  pressing  need  of 
the  sorely-bestead  saints  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  In  the 
first  Epistle,  it  is  by  holding  up  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
that  he  would  take  the  sting  out  of  the  fiery  trials  of  God's 
suffering  saints.  To  this  thought  he  turns  again  and 
again  ;  and  with  what  tenderness  and  pathos  he  reasons  : 
**  Because  Christ  also  suffered  for  us"  (2:21);  "for  Christ 
also  hath  once  suffered''  (3 :  18).  "As  Christ  hath  suf- 
fered for  us  in  the  flesh,  arm  yourselves  with  the  same 
mind"  (4:1).  "Rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers 
of  Christ's  sufferings''  (4: 13).  In  the  second  Epistle  it 
is  the  Lord  in  majesty  and  power  who  is  revealed,  for  it 
is  the  lordship  of  Jesus  that  best  serves  to  strengthen 
human  faith  in  the  truth,  and  to  warn  against  apostasy. 
So  in  the  first  Epistle  the  names  with  which  Peter  names 
the  Master  are  Christ  and  yesus  Christ.  In  the  second 
they  are  "  oiir  Lord  and  Saviour!'  In  the  first  Epistle, 
however,  the  look  is  not  simply  backward  to  Christ's  suf- 
ferings ;  it  is  forward  also  to  when  his  glory  shall  be  re- 
vealed (i  :  7  ;  4 :  13).  But  it  is  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the 
first  Epistle,  and  for  comfort,  that  Christians  may  h^glad 
with  exceediftg  joy  (1:7;  4:13;  5:4).  In  the  second 
Epistle  it  is  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  linked  with 
suddenness  and  destru,ction,  for  warfiing  as  well.  Again, 
in  the  first  Epistle,  hope  is  the  joyous  and  electric  word 
ringing  down  through  it  as  an  antidote  to  sorrow :  Be- 
gotten unto  a  living  hope  (i  :  3).  ''Hope  to  the  end  for 
the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  you  "  (i  ;  13).  "  That  your 
faith  and  hope  might  be  in  God"   (1:21).     "Be  ready 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  29 

always  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  "  (3  :  15). 
In  the  second  Epistle  knowledge  is  the  strong  word  that 
gets  repetition  and  emphasis,  as  an  antidote  to  ''false 
teachers  "  and  ''feigned  words!'  "  Grace  and  peace  be  to 
you  through  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus"  (i  :  2). 
"  That  ye  be  not  unfruitful  in  the  knoivledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  "  (i  :  8).  *'  I  will  not  be  negligent  to  put  you  always 
in  remembrance  of  these  things,  though  ye  know  them  " 
(i  :  12).  "After  they  have  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the 
world  through  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour  " 
{2  :  20).  "  Grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ"  (3  :  18). 

Blessed  Epistles  of  consolation  these.  Who  could 
have  written  them  but  the  tempted,  tried,  sifted,  tempest- 
tossed,  impulsive,  ardent,  wayward  Peter,  the  sufferings 
and  infinite  patience  and  forgiveness  of  whose  Lord  at 
last  transformed  this  apostle  into  a  rock  of  firmness,  no 
longer  resting  on  a  human  will  but  on  the  Rock  of  Ages. 
"When  thou  shalt  be  old/'  his  Master  had  said  (John 
21:18) — "When  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch 
forth  thy  hands  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry 
thee  whither  thou  wouldst  not."  And  the  beloved  disci- 
ple afterwards  added,  "  This  spake  he  signifying  by  what 
death  he  should  glorify  God."  And  standing  within  the 
shadow  of  that  predicted  crucifixion,  knowing  that  very 
soon  he  must  put  off  his  earthly  tabernacle,  chastened, 
subdued,  enriched  by  grace,  Peter  penned  these  letters. 
Ever  since,  the  aching  head  has  found  a  softer  pillow 
with  Peter's  first  Epistle  underneath.  The  smitten  and 
bereaved    have   gone    down    into    some  new   sepulchre 

31 


30  THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER. 

that  God  has  made  in  their  heart's  garden,  and  taking 
this  Epistle  with  them  and  reading  it  there,  the  sepulchre 
has  come  to  be  the  dearest  spot  in  the  garden.  This 
word  of  consolation  has  led  many  a  weeping  saint  out  of 
the  Valley  of  Baca  upon  the  heights  of  the  Delectable 
mountains.  Faces  with  all  the  hope  washed  out  have 
looked  into  this  glass  of  the  Word,  and  brightened  like  fires 
new  stirred,  as  they  beheld  the  glory  of  their  Lord.  It 
has  put  rifts  in  clouds  and  let  light  through.  It  has  lifted 
sorrows  off;  or  taken  the  sting  out  of  them.  It  has 
changed  cowards  like  Peter  before  the  ascension  into 
heroes  like  Peter  after  it. 

And  surely  the  second  Epistle  has  also  had  its  special, 
distinctive  and  most  precious  uses.  Many  a  waverer 
and  doubter  has  here  gotten  better  anchorage  in  the 
truth.  In  times  when  defection  has  spread  in  the  church, 
when  it  has  seemed  as  if  the  very  foundations  of  God's 
temple  of  truth  were  being  broken  up,  timid  believers  have 
grown  calm  and  fearless,  as  they  have  caught  the  confi- 
dence of  this  ringing  word  of  Peter.  They  have  turned 
to  this  second  Epistle  and  have  grown  sure  as  they  read 
it,  of  the  ultimate  and  utter  overthrow  of  those  by  whom 
the  way  of  truth  is  evil  spoken  of.  "They  have  believed 
in  their  inmost  souls  that  the  church  is  built  upon  the 
rock  and  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against 
her.  Here  they  have  learned  that  one  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day, 
that  God  has  therefore  a  great  while  to  do  things  in,  that 
he  does  not  measure  years  or  altitudes  as  men  measure 
them.     And  if,  by  the  hope  flashing  out   in    the   first 


THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER.  31 

Epistle,  thick  darkness  has  been  dispelled  from  many 
a  believer's  sky,  by  the  knowledge  enjoined  in  the  sec- 
ond Epistle  better  anchorage  has  been  secured  in  the 
cleft  of  the  Rock  for  God's  storm-swept  hosts.  They 
are  both  full  of  the  rich  fruits  of  Peter's  experience.  No 
other  apostle  could  have  copied  just  such  things  out  of 
his  heart.  Men  have  mocked  Peter's  memory  since 
with  stately  piles  of  architecture  wherein  they  have 
crowded  out  Jesus  by  Jesus'  mother.  Here  is  Peter's 
true  building  work,  full,  not  of  Mary,  but  of  Jesus.  Men 
have  named  Peter's  successors  vicegerents  of  God.  But 
Peter's  true  successors  are  those  who  heed  his  dying  in- 
junction and  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  Peter's  Lord.  Men  have  put  Peter's  so-called 
power  of  the  keys  to  infamous  uses.  But  here  are  the 
keys  that  have  unlocked  the  mystery  of  suffering  and 
sorrow  to  many  a  believing  soul.  In  the  books  that  God 
keeps  will  be  found  no  richer  memorial  than  of  these 
two  alabaster  boxes  of  precious  ointment  that  Peter  broke 
for  the  world's  bruised  and  burdened  hearts. 


BS2361  .L47 

Lectures  on  the  New  Testament  delivered 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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